Quantifying the role of different surface coatings in experimental models of wound healing

In vitro surface coatings are widely used to mimic the role of extracellular matrix in the invivo environment. Different effects are reported for different surface coatings, however, some of these results are inconsistent across the literature. To explore the role of different surface coatings, we use a new modified stopper-based wound-healing assay, called a stopper assay, with two commonly used surface coatings: gelatin and poly-L-lysine (PLL). Our experimental data shows the gap width decreases faster with the gelatin and PLL coatings. Similarly, the number of cells in certain subregions increases faster with these coatings. Unfortunately, neither of these observations provides definitive mechanistic insight into the role of the coatings. To provide such insight we calibrate the solution of the Fisher-Kolmogorov model to match the experimental data. Our parameter estimates indicate that both coatings significantly increase cell motility without affecting cell proliferation.