Functionalized, Swellable Hydrogel Layers as a Platform for Cell Studies

Abstract

This paper reports the design, synthesis and characterization of thin films as a platform for studying the separate influences of physical and chemical cues of a matrix on the adhesion, growth and final phenotype of cells. Independent control of the physical and chemical properties of functionalized, swellable hydrogel thin films was achieved using initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD). The systematic variation in crosslink density is demonstrated to control the swelling ability of the iCVD hydrogel films based on 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). At the same time, the incorporation of controllable concentrations of the active ester pentafluorophenyl methacrylate (PFM) allows easy immobilization of aminated bioactive motifs, such as bioactive peptides. Initial cell culture results with Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) indicated that the strategy of using PFM to immobilize a cell-adhesion peptide motif onto the hydrogel layers promotes proper HUVEC growth and enhances their phenotype.

Polymer Encapsulation of an Amorphous Pharmaceutical by initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition for Enhanced Stability

“…In recent years, this process enabled coatings with tailored properties, including thermal 34 or pH-responsiveness, 35 encapsulation, 36 and swellability, 37 among many more.…”

Vapor-based synthesis and micropatterning of Janus thin films with distinct surface wettability and mechanical robustness

“…This double-layered structure ensures the affinity of the patterns to the lm. 28,39 Upon liing off the template, hydrogel coatings deposited inside the template holes remained on the Janus lm, forming a dual micropatterned surface with respect to both chemical functionality and topography. It is noted that this patterning process is an additive fabrication in one step that involves no solvents, thus eliminating many material-or bio-compatibility issues for thin lm applications.…”

“…It is noted that this patterning process is an additive fabrication in one step that involves no solvents, thus eliminating many material-or bio-compatibility issues for thin lm applications. 40 The concept presented here can be extended to patterning of any polymer capable of being synthesized using iCVD, including stimuli responsive, 22 bioactive, 39 and biosensing polymers. 41 The topography of the micropatterned surface were examined using AFM and SEM.…”

Efficient Cell Reprogramming Using Bioengineered Surfaces

“…Plasma enhanced development of surface‐active coatings is an attractive method to obtain these reactive side chains, allowing the deposition of polymer‐like films with tailored functional group densities. Pentafluorophenyl methacrylate offers a highly reactive ester group that can potentially be used to modify the amino groups of proteins or peptides 4. Here we demonstrate the use of this technique to obtain modified bioactive surfaces able to reprogram murine somatic cells into pluripotent cells at high efficiency.…”

“…As the primary surface we used two kinds of 35 mm culture plates commonly used for cell culture: petri dishes with no prior surface modification (PD) and commercial tissue culture plates modified to enhance the attachment of eukaryotic cells (TC). As the surface‐modifying agent we used pentafluorophenyl methacrylate (PFM), which can bind amino groups via its highly reactive ester group4 (see Figure a,b). PFM was attached to the surface by grafting after Ar plasma treatment of the polystyrene surface, under conditions previously described by our group3 (see Supporting Information, Figure S1).…”