Experimental design
Gel fabrication
Gel functionalization with fibronectin
Gel functionalization with TAMRA-RGD peptide
Silicone breast implant–derived materials
Mechanical characterization
Interfacial rheology measurements
Contact angle measurements
Steel ball indentation measurements
Gel preparation with Span85 surfactant treatment for cellular assays
Cell lines and culture
Antibodies and reagents
Cell morphology and spreading assays
Cell proliferation assays
Gene expression analysis
Isolation and culture of PBMCs
PBMC-silicone interaction assay
PBMC—silicone droplets interaction assay
Immunofluorescence imaging
Hertz contact model with surface tension
Statistics
To prepare a cell-free collagen I master mix of a defined volume (90 μl), 10 μl of a 10× concentrated minimal essential Eagle’s medium (MEM) (M0275, Sigma-Aldrich) was added to 5 μl of a 7.5% sodium bicarbonate (BIC) solution (25080-060, Gibco) in a sterile tube and gently mixed until the indicator color changed from yellow (acidic) to purple (basic). Subsequently, 75 μl of purified bovine collagen I stock solution (3.0 mg/ml; PureCol) (5005-C, Advanced BioMatrix Inc.) was added to the MEM/BIC solution and gently mixed until a homogeneous, slightly purple color was obtained. The collagen I master mix was kept on ice for immediate use.