Cell—Cell Crosslinking by Bio‐Molecular Recognition of Heparin‐Based Layer‐by‐Layer Nanofilms

When bio‐molecular recognition between nanofilms and proteins occurs on cell surfaces, rapid cellular assembly takes place. Cells coated with layer‐by‐layer nanofilms composed of fibronectin and heparin form aggregates after centrifugation and nanofilms induce attractive forces between cells through bio‐molecular recognition between membrane proteins and heparin. Cell aggregates display network structures of cells as seen in colloidal gels with high viscosity. Cell—cell crosslinking allows for the construction of 3D‐tissues with rich glycosaminoglycan. This cell—cell crosslinking process that uses a layer‐by‐layer technique has enormous potential for in vitro tissue applications in regenerative medicine and cell signaling assays.