Mechanobio-materials: Design of a mechanical extracellular milieu to manipulate cell mechanobiology

Recently, mechanobiology-based cell manipulation technology has drawn much attention in the bioengineering field. As one of the advanced trends emerging in the biomaterial research that intend to control the cellular mechanobiology, we are focusing on mechanical cell manipulation based on the design of a micro-elasticity conditions of cell culture substrates in this paper. Control of cell motility on the well-designed elasticity gradient materials, i.e., control of mechanotaxis, and determination of stem cell lineage specification on the elasticity-tunable gels are briefly introduced. Micromechanical conditions of materials for such cell manipulation are reviewed. Concepts and perspectives of the biomaterials that manipulate cell mechanobiology, i.e., mechanobio- materials, are discussed in relation to recent development in neo-biomimetics studies.