Figure 1.

Diagram of experimental system (A). Gold nanoparticles were deposited onto glass with spacing determined by the coating process. The nanoparticles are functionalized with different constructs of recombinant Agrin (or N-Cadherins) via NTA-histidine interaction. The biofunctionalization and spacing between dots on the nanometer scale was varied, and the dependence of cellular behaviour on these parameters was determined. B) Purification of Agrin analyzed by SDS-PAGE analysis and western blotting. C) Two carboxy-terminal agrin constructs (C100 and C50) were used in this study (SN – Short transmembrane N-terminus, LN- long, secreted N-terminus, F – follistatin repeat, GAG – glycosaminoglycan domain, SEA – Sea Urchin Sperm protein/enterokinase/agrin domain, ST – seronine/threonine rich region, EGF – EGF like repeat, G – laminin like globular domain, X, Y, Z sites of alternative splicing).