Cell instructive microporous scaffolds through interface engineering.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Regenerative Medicine
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Designing biomaterials for regenerative medicine necessitates mimicking the native extracellular matrix (ECM).
• Current methods often struggle to replicate the complex topographical and chemical cues of the ECM.
• Amphiphilic copolymers offer potential as versatile building blocks for advanced biomaterials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize porous biomaterial foams using high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templating.
• To engineer the surface chemistry of the foam pores with distinct, nanoscopic domains.
• To create materials that mimic the native ECM's physical and chemical properties for enhanced cell interactions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) templating with amphiphilic copolymers as surfactants.
• Employed oil-water interface confined phase separation to control pore surface morphology.
• Combined different copolymers to achieve phase separation and create distinct chemical domains within the pores.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized porous foams with engineered pore surface topologies.
• Demonstrated the ability to create nanoscopic domains of cell-inert and cell-active chemistries on pore surfaces.
• Observed domain-specific adhesion of proteins and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs).

Conclusions:

• The developed HIPE templating method allows for precise engineering of biomaterial surfaces.
• The synthesized foams effectively mimic key aspects of the native ECM's chemical and physical environment.
• These biomaterials show promise for applications in regenerative medicine due to controlled cell adhesion properties.