What is it about?
Cells need to attach to biomaterials for tissue engineering and medical implants to work properly. It was long believed that stronger binding molecules would make this attachment better. We show that this is not the case. Instead, the speed at which molecules move in both the biomaterial and the cell membrane determines whether cells bind effectively. When both sides move at similar speeds, receptors and ligands cluster together, creating stronger and more reliable connections. If their movements do not match, binding is weak or random. This new understanding explains why some materials fail and provides guidelines for designing better biomaterials.
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Why is it important?
We identify the rules that determine when cells can effectively bind to biomaterials. The key is not binding strength alone but the mobility of both ligands in the material and receptors in the cell membrane. This is important because receptor clustering or separation directly influences downstream signaling, which shapes how cells grow, differentiate, or activate immune responses. Our findings provide timely design principles for guiding these processes and developing more effective materials for tissue engineering, implants, and targeted therapies.
Perspectives
Working on this article has been a rewarding journey because it brought together collaborators from different disciplines, each contributing a unique viewpoint on how molecules move and interact. For me, the most exciting part was realizing that something as simple as molecular speed could change the way we think about cell–material interactions. I hope this work shows others that dynamics are just as important as chemistry in biology, and that it inspires new ways of designing materials that can truly “communicate” with cells. More than anything, I hope readers see this as a step toward making biomaterials not just functional, but alive with the same adaptability found in nature.
shikha dhiman
Johannes Gutenberg Universitat Mainz
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Reciprocity in dynamics of supramolecular biosystems for the clustering of ligands and receptors, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2500686122.
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