Applying VHB acrylic elastomer as a cell culture and stretchable substrate

Elastomers are flexible polymers with low young's modulus and high failure strain. VHB, considered as an acrylic elastomer, is widely used in smart materials due to its dielectric and electromechanical actuating properties. To the best of our knowledge, this polymer has not been applied as cell culture and stretching substrate and this role has played by PDMS. Herein, we present the structural properties of VHB vs. PDMS and then prove the safety of using this polymer as cell culture substrate by different viability assays. Moreover, we analyzed the effect of stretching of VHB substrate on the cultured cells. [GRAPHICS] .