Which of the following is NOT an example of a cell adhesion force?

In the context of cell adhesion forces, it’s important to understand the characteristics of those forces and how they contribute to the adhesion between cells and their environment, particularly in tissue engineering applications.

Cell adhesion forces typically involve interactions that promote the sticking and anchoring of cells to surfaces or to other cells. Electrostatic forces, for instance, arise from the attraction between charged particles, which can be significant in biological systems where cells often have charged membranes. Van der Waals forces are weak attractions that occur between molecules in close proximity due to transient dipoles and are relevant in cellular interactions. Steric stabilization refers to the presence of a physical barrier that prevents close approach due to spatial occupancy, which can influence adhering strength as well.

Hydrogen forces, while they can indicate molecular interactions such as those seen in secondary structures of proteins, are not typically categorized within the standard definitions of adhesion forces relevant to cell adhesion phenomena. Instead, they are more associated with molecular stability and are not directly responsible for the forces that enable cells to adhere to surfaces or to one another in a biological context. Thus, this delineation makes it clear why this option is not considered a cell adhesion force in the same context as the others listed.