Thin Polymer Brush Decouples Biomaterial's Micro-/Nano-Topology and Stem Cell Adhesion

Michel Klein Gunnewiek, Edmondo Maria Benetti, Andrea Di Luca, Clemens van Blitterswijk, Lorenzo Moroni, Gyula J. Vancso

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)
247 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Surface morphology and chemistry of polymers used as biomaterials, such as tissue engineering scaffolds, have a strong influence on the adhesion and behavior of human mesenchymal stem cells. Here we studied semicrystalline poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) substrate scaffolds, which exhibited a variation of surface morphologies and roughness originating from different spherulitic superstructures. Different substrates were obtained by varying the parameters of the thermal processing, i.e. crystallization conditions. The cells attached to these polymer substrates adopted different morphologies responding to variations in spherulite density and size. In order to decouple substrate topology effects on the cells, sub-100 nm bio-adhesive polymer brush coatings of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates were grafted from PCL and functionalized with fibronectin. On surfaces featuring different surface textures, dense and sub-100 nm thick brush coatings determined the response of cells, irrespective to the underlying topology. Thus, polymer brushes decouple substrate micro-/nano-topology and the adhesion of stem cells.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13843-13852
JournalLangmuir
Volume29
Issue number45
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Oct 2013

Keywords

  • METIS-298027
  • IR-87401

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