Thin Polyelectrolyte Films For Controlled Surface-Cell Interactions

描述(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，细胞对它们所附着的表面的化学和机械性能都有反应。该项目将探索用于调节细胞黏附和控制细胞行为的新薄膜。在这项工作中，将研究蛋白质和细胞在由聚电解质多层膜技术制备的超薄膜上的粘附性。这项研究涉及新聚合物的合成、它们的组装，以及细胞对这些合成材料的反应的协调评估。聚合物中将引入官能团以控制亲水性和交联性。薄膜表面的细胞外基质和薄膜内部的非特异性化学物质将对机械性能产生影响。这一区别的目的是区分非特异性蛋白质吸附和膜模数诱导的细胞反应对细胞黏附、分化和增殖的贡献。这三个相互交错的目标组呈现出与生物系统越来越多的反馈水平。我们一开始的目标是产生一个粘附性最小的背景表面，然后在它上面“掺杂”精确水平的粘附性促进蛋白。我们继续着眼于细胞和底物之间可控的化学和物理相互作用。我们感兴趣的是，细胞组织如何对广泛的化学和物理线索做出反应，这部分是受假说的驱动，部分是对生物界面上新材料的探索。新颖点包括新材料的组成，一项很有前途的技术向生物界面的迁移，交联法，以及在薄膜平面上形成机械性能的梯度。

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.