Chemically Programmed Cell Adhesion with Membrane-Anchored Oligonucleotides

Cell adhesion organizes the structures of tissues and
mediates
their mechanical, chemical, and electrical integration with their
surroundings. Here, we describe a strategy for chemically controlling
cell adhesion using membrane-anchored single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides.
The reagents are pure chemical species prepared from phosphoramidites
synthesized in a single chemical step from commercially available
starting materials. The approach enables rapid, efficient, and tunable
cell adhesion, independent of proteins or glycans, by facilitating
interactions with complementary labeled surfaces or other cells. We
demonstrate the utility of this approach by imaging drug-induced changes
in the membrane dynamics of non-adherent human cells that are chemically
immobilized on a passivated glass surface.