ECM ordering effects as a marker for early tissue formation on artificial substrates - a sum-frequency-generation spectroscopy study

The in situ monitoring of the interphase between a substrate and a cellular layer is of great interest as it allows determination of changes in surface properties and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization. The latter is an early indicator of major cellular processes like migration, adhesion, proliferation, metastasis, tissue formation, and gain or loss of differentiation. We demonstrated recently that vibrational sum-frequency-generation (SFG) spectroscopy can be used to probe the layer between living cells and a solid substrate. In this contribution we will report on the investigation of ordering phenomena within the ECM of fibroblasts allowing to track early stages of tissue formation. SFG spectroscopy offers a unique way to observe these correlated changes of order in real-time without the need of labeling or disruption.