Abstract Basement membranes are essential for epithelial and endothelial tissue organization. To mimic them, we developed a fabrication method to produce ultrathin membrane of collagen IV and laminin. A honeycomb microframe of thickness 50 μm and compartment-size 400 μm was firstly patterned in polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) by using lithography and vacuum assisted UV curing techniques. Then, a monolayer of gelatin nanofibers was electrospun and crosslinked on the microframe to form a secondary structure, a fiber mesh with much smaller pore sizes, in each of the honeycomb compartments. Finally, a collagen IV-laminin gel layer was deposited and dehydrated, leading to the formation of ultrathin membrane over a large area with a nanofiber backbone. Such an artificial basement membrane is mechanically stable and fully bio-compatible. It is also semi-permeable which can slow down considerably the diffusion of large size molecules. More importantly, it can be used to improve the monolayer formation of epithelial cells. Thus, this culture device recapitulates the biological basement membrane, permits the epithelial tissue formation, and allows mimicking a sophisticated cellular microenvironment.

中文翻译：

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上皮细胞培养用超薄人工基底膜的制备

摘要 基底膜对于上皮和内皮组织组织至关重要。为了模仿它们，我们开发了一种制造方法来生产胶原蛋白 IV 和层粘连蛋白的超薄膜。首先通过使用光刻和真空辅助 UV 固化技术在聚乙二醇二丙烯酸酯 (PEGDA) 中图案化厚度为 50 μm 和隔室尺寸为 400 μm 的蜂窝微框架。然后，单层明胶纳米纤维在微框架上进行电纺和交联，以在每个蜂窝隔室中形成二级结构，即孔径小得多的纤维网。最后，胶原IV-层粘连蛋白凝胶层被沉积并脱水，导致在大面积上形成具有纳米纤维骨架的超薄膜。这种人造基底膜具有机械稳定性和完全生物相容性。它也是半渗透的，可以大大减慢大分子的扩散。更重要的是，它可以用来改善上皮细胞的单层形成。因此，这种培养装置概括了生物基膜，允许上皮组织形成，并允许模拟复杂的细胞微环境。