Study on Gelatin Biomaterial for Embryonic Stem Cell Culture by Measuring Young’s Modulus via Atomic Force Microscopy

For culturing of mammalian cells, coatings of biomaterials in culture plates such as gelatin are commonly used as extracellular matrixes to support attachment and survival. Gelatin is typically derived from collagen-related extracellular protein; gelatin-coated culture dishes are commonly used for culturing of embryonic stem cells (ESCs), instead of other expensive biomaterials. However, studies on the density or coating structures of gelatin used in cell culture, depending on the mixing ratios, have been lacking. In this study, we employed atomic force microscopy to study the correlation between ESC growth and density of gelatin by measuring the Young’s modulus, a mechanical property that indicates the tensile or compressive stiffness of a solid material. We confirmed from the measurements that Young’s modulus decreases as the mixing ratio of gelatin increases. Through these results, we expected to optimize the ESC culture condition by determining the appropriate density range of gelatin. Finding a range of densities of gelatin that can maximize the rate and condition of ESC growth will help produce organoids in good condition for 3-dimensional tissue culture using gelatin-coated culture matrix.