Abstract

Natural tissues comprise a population of cells, extra cellular matrix (ECM) and signaling biomolecules. The only living component, cell, interacts with each other and with the ECM in an incredibly multifaceted way. From the materials point of view, cells are highly dynamic viscoelastic materials; reside in highly dynamic three dimensional (3D) viscoelastic ECM, communicate with its surrounding in a highly dynamic and complex way, and form a highly dynamic viscoelastic tissue [1,2]. The cells can continually read the microenviromental cues such as stiffness, porosity, topography etc. and respond to them in a mechano-sensitive way to maintain the both cellular and tissue health [3]. It has been long recognized that matrix integrity or stiffness has profound influences on cell function and fate [4-7].