Plastic and Glass Tissue Culture Surfaces

The mechanism of adhesion is a multistep process involving four phases adsorption, contact, attachment and spreading (Grinell, 1978). 

Adsorption. An important factor in adsorption to a surface is its chemical nature and, in particular, wettabihty. Polystyrene manufactured into vessels does not have a good chemical structure in this regard and requires treatment to produce a negatively charged surface suitable for electrostatic attachment and cell adhesion (Maroudas, 1993). The first stage of adsorption requires the presence of 

Cell and Tissue Culture Laboratory Procedures in Biotechnology, edited by A. Doyle and J.B. Griffiths. 1998 John Wiley Sons Ltd. 

Contact. The surfaces of unattached cells possess microvilli (Springer et al, 1976), which are involved in the next stage. 

Attachment. Once contact is achieved via cytoplasmic micro-extensions, these additional structures disappear from the cell surface. They are thought to be essential in overcoming electrostatic forces between the negatively charged cells and the negative charge on the attachment surface. 

---