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Materials science

Cell environments programmed with light

A combination of two light-induced reactions has been used to attach peptides to a polymeric gel, and then to detach them from it. This feat opens up opportunities for studying the effects of signalling molecules on cell behaviour in vitro.

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Figure 1: Reversible gel patterning.

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Correspondence to Matthias P. Lutolf.

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Lutolf, M. Cell environments programmed with light. Nature 482, 477–478 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/482477a

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