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Preparation of Thermoresponsive Nanostructured Surfaces for Tissue Engineering
Published on: March 1, 2016
Thermo-responsive polymer brushes as intelligent biointerfaces: preparation via ATRP and characterization
Kenichi Nagase1, Minami Watanabe, Akihiko Kikuchi
1Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science, Tokyo Women's Medical University TWIns, 8-1 Kawadacho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan.
Macromolecular Bioscience
|November 25, 2010
Summary
Researchers modified glass surfaces with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) brushes using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Adjusting PIPAAm density and length effectively controlled surface properties and cell adhesion, demonstrating a method for tunable thermo-responsive surfaces.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Surface Chemistry
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Stimuli-responsive polymers offer tunable surface properties for biomedical applications.
- Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) exhibits temperature-dependent hydrophilicity, making it suitable for smart surfaces.
- Controlling polymer brush architecture is crucial for tailoring surface behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prepare poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) brush grafted glass substrates with controlled graft densities and chain lengths using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP).
- To investigate the influence of PIPAAm brush architecture on surface physicochemical properties, including wettability and roughness.
- To evaluate the effect of PIPAAm brush characteristics on fibronectin adsorption and endothelial cell (EC) adhesion.
Main Methods:
- Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) for grafting PIPAAm brushes.
- Attenuated total reflection/Fourier-transform infrared (ATR/FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for surface characterization.
- Contact angle measurements to assess surface wettability.
- Fibronectin adsorption and EC adhesion assays.
Main Results:
- ATRP conditions were optimized to control PIPAAm graft density and chain length.
- Surface wettability and roughness were modulated by PIPAAm brush architecture.
- Fibronectin adsorption and EC adhesion increased as PIPAAm brush density decreased.
- EC adhesion decreased with increasing PIPAAm brush length.
Conclusions:
- Surface-initiated ATRP provides an effective route for preparing PIPAAm brush surfaces with tunable graft densities and chain lengths.
- The prepared PIPAAm brush surfaces exhibit controllable thermo-responsive properties.
- This approach allows for the modulation of protein adsorption and cell adhesion, offering potential for advanced biomaterial design.
