Bioactive Polymer Coatings

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The proposed program of research centers on the molecular design and fabrication of exciting new bioactive polymeric coatings that actively promote a desired biological response. The fundamental approach adopted for creating boinductive surface coatings is the delivery of precise doses of cell adhesion ligands, growth factors and other cell signaling motifs onto the surface of a polymeric biomaterial that is resistant to protein adsorption. Two novel polymer systems are proposed for fabricating bioinductive polymer surfaces: surface-active beta-functional block copolymers and functional hydrogels prepared by end-linking end-functional macromonomers. The synthesis of both complex materials systems takes advantage of the exceptional capability of the recently developed technique of atom transfer radical polymerization to prepare functional materials with high precision and efficiency. In addition to providing for precise control of surface composition, the proposed materials have been selected to allow for photo-patterning of bioactive functionality, an exciting tool that will be applied to create materials that can direct the spatial growth of cells into two- and three-dimensional patterns. Finally, a new method for applying these bioactive coatings to polymer surfaces is described that is based upon environmentally friendly supercritical fluids. The focus on supercritical coating technologies illustrates illustrates how considerations of the commercial applicability of the methods and materials selected have been factored into the overall research program. The success of this research program would have a positive influence on a broad range of biomaterial technologies relating to tissue regeneration and repair, medical implants and devices, and consumer products.