Micro- and Nanopatterned Star Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) Materials Prepared by UV-Based Imprint Lithography

Abstract

A UV-based imprint lithography method is used for the direct surface structuring of hydrogel-based biomaterials, which are prepared from a family of tailor-made star poly(ethylene glycol) formulations. Bulk star poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels are fabricated by cross-linking acrylate-functionalized star PEG macromolecules. Cross-linking is achieved by radical reactions initiated by UV irradiation. This UV-curable star PEG formulation allows templating of mold structures to yield a stable, stand-alone, elastomeric replica of the mold. In particular, when a secondary, soft mold is used that consists of a perfluorinated elastomer with inherent excellent release properties, nanometer-sized features (down to 100 nm) can be imprinted without specialized equipment. The applied UV-based imprint lithography is a fast and simple technique to employ for the direct topographic structuring of bulk PEG-based biomaterials. The UV-based imprinting into the star PEG prepolymer by means of a perfluorinated, soft mold can be carried out on the bench top, while nanoscale resolution is demonstrated.

X-ray Spectromicroscopy Study of Protein Adsorption to a Polystyrene−Polylactide Blend

“…UV-initiated crosslinking of PEO with pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) or other radical crosslinkers [8] is becoming increasingly popular since PEO can be crosslinked in both solution and solid state [9,10]. The inclusion of PETA to form crosslinked PEO has been used in biomedical applications such as hydrogels [11,12] and micelles [13] for drug delivery, or to form chemically patterned surfaces for cell studies [14]. However, to our knowledge, the effect of PETA crosslinker on the biocompatibility of PEO-based materials has not been systematically investigated.…”

Cell Adhesion and Spreading on an Intrinsically Anti-Adhesive PEG Biomaterial

“…The crosslinking reaction was initiated by a UV-based radical reaction with benzoin methyl ether as photoinitiator (PI) and an additional crosslinker (CL) (pentaerythritol triacrylate). Further experimental details concerning the synthesis and the curing conditions can be found in our recent publications (Lensen et al, 2007;Diez et al, 2009). The hydrogel substrates were applied as free-standing bulk gels for 2D cell culture studies.…”

“…The hydrogel substrates were applied as free-standing bulk gels for 2D cell culture studies. Due to the fact that the prepolymer Acr-sP(EO-stat-PO) is liquid before crosslinking, the precursor mixture can be molded in any shape, which has enabled us to imprint desired micro-and nanometer topographic patterns into the hydrogel surface (Lensen et al, 2007;Diez et al, 2009). In the following, the properties of this hydrogel system in view of its use in biomedical applications will be evaluated, e.g.…”

Interface Biology of Implants

“…Garcia also demonstrated that generation of multivalent extracellular matrix enable controlled introduction of branching, activation of side chain substitution and specific functionalization. 12 Polyglycerol is a water soluble polymer and can be substituted by a variety of functional side groups. The prepolymers can further be linked to biologically active compounds.…”