A growingbody of literature broadly documents that a wide array of fundamentalcell behaviors are modulated by the physical attributes of the cellularmicroenvironment, yet in vitroassays are typicallycarried out using tissue culture plastic or glass substrates thatlack the 3-dimensional topography present in vivoand have stiffness values that far exceed that of cellular and stromalmicroenvironments. This work presents a method for the fabricationof thin hydrogel films that can replicate arbitrary topographies witha resolution of 400 nm that possess an elastic modulus of approximately250 kPa. Material characterization including swelling behavior andmechanics were performed and reported. Cells cultured on these surfacespatterned with anisotropic ridges and grooves react to the biophysicalcues present and show an alignment response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]