Fake plastic cells

Brown University researchers have made plastic replica cells so realistic they may even fool real cells into growing along them to repair damaged tissue.

Biomedical engineer Diane Hoffman-Kim and her research team made the fakes using a novel two-part moulding process. The copies looked so authentic, Hoffman-Kim couldn’t tell if they were real or rubber at first.

‘When I saw the images from the microscope, I said, OK, I can’t tell the difference,’ Hoffman-Kim said. ‘It was pretty amazing, and just what we wanted.’

The main cells used in the experiments were Schwann cells, which protect peripheral nerves by wrapping around their axons to create insulating myelin sheaths. Schwann cells also direct axon growth during cell development and repair.

Hoffman-Kim, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology and the Division of Engineering, said the realistic replicas could be used in laboratories to help scientists understand how these critical support cells sustain and direct nerve growth.