Thin Polyelectrolyte Films For Controlled Surface-Cell Interactions

描述（由申请人提供）：当合成或天然材料，如用于植入物和组织工程的材料，与生命系统接触时，它们会在细胞和细胞外基质中引起特定或一般的反应。众所周知，细胞对它们附着的表面的化学性质和机械性质都有反应。本项目将探索用于调节细胞粘附和控制细胞行为的新型薄膜。在这项工作中，蛋白质和细胞粘附在超薄膜上的多电解质多层技术将被研究。这项研究包括新聚合物的合成、组装以及细胞对这些合成材料的反应的协调评估。在聚合物中引入官能团来控制亲水性和交联性。在膜表面的细胞外基质和膜内部呈现的非特异性化学物质之间会有区别，这将影响机械性能。这种区分的目的是分离非特异性蛋白质吸附和膜模诱导的细胞反应对细胞粘附、分化和增殖的贡献。这三个相互交织的目标组与生物系统的反馈水平不断提高。我们的目标是生产一个最低限度的粘合背景表面，然后我们用精确水平的粘合促进蛋白“涂”在它上面。我们继续着眼于控制细胞和底物之间的化学和物理相互作用。在假设和对生物界面新材料的探索的推动下，我们对细胞组织如何对广泛的化学和物理线索作出反应很感兴趣。新颖性包括新的材料组成，有前途的技术向生物界面的迁移，交联方法，以及在薄膜平面上形成机械性能梯度。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): When synthetic or natural materials, such as those used in implants and tissue engineering, come in contact with living systems, they induce specific or general responses in cells and the extracellular matrix. Cells are known to respond to both the chemistry and the mechanical properties of the surface to which they adhere. This project will explore new thin films for regulating cell adhesion and controlling cell behavior. In this work, protein and cell adhesion to ultrathin films made by the polyelectrolyte multilayering technique will be investigated. The study involves the synthesis of new polymers, their assembly, and a coordinated evaluation of the response of cells to these synthetic materials. Functional groups will be introduced into the polymers to control hydrophilicity and crosslinking. Distinction will be made between the nonspecific chemistry presented to the extracellular matrix at the surface of the film, and the film interior, which will impact the mechanical properties. The purpose of this distinction is to separate contributions of nonspecific protein adsorption and film modulus-induced cellular responses to cell adhesion, differentiation, and proliferation. The three interleaving groups of Aims present increasing levels of feedback with biological systems. We start with a goal of producing a minimally adhesive background surface, then we "dope" it with precise levels of adhesion-promoting protein. We continue with an eye towards controlled chemical and physical interactions between cells and substrates. Driven partly by hypothesis and partly by a quest for new materials at the biointerface, we are interested in how cellular organization responds to broad chemical and physical cues. Points of novelty include new materials compositions, migration of a promising technology to the biointerface, methods of crosslinking, and forming gradients in mechanical properties in the plane of the film.