| AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Neutron Scattering Focus Topic | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session NT+AS+MI-WeM |
| Session: | Applications of Neutron Scattering I |
| Presenter: | Manish Dubey, Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Authors: | M. Dubey, Los Alamos National Laboratory M.S. Jablin, Carnegie Mellon University M. Zhernenkov, Los Alamos National Laboratory R. Toomey, University of South Florida J. Majewski, Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Temperature sensitive hydrogel polymers are utilized as responsive layers in various applications. While the polymer’s native characteristics have been studied extensively, details concerning its properties during interaction with bio-related structures are lacking. This work investigates the interaction between a thermoresponsive polymer cushion and different lipid membrane capping layers probed by neutron reflectometry. N-isopropylacrylamide copolymerized with methacroylbenzophenone first supported a lipid bilayer composed of 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphoethanolamine (DPPE) and subsequently 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphocholine (DPPC). The polymer-membrane systems were investigated above and below the polymer lower critical solution temperature (37 and 25 °C). While the same cushion supported each lipid membrane, the polymer hydration profile and thickness were markedly different for DPPE and DPPC systems. Since DPPE and DPPC have different bending rigidities, these results establish that the polymer-membrane interaction is critically mediated by the mechanics of the membrane, providing better insight into cell-hydrogel interactions. There has been increased interest in the effect of matrix elasticity on cell lineage specification. Polymeric matrices with known stiffness are utilized as supports to understand the physical effects of in vivo tissue microenvironment for therapeutic uses of stem cells. This work focuses on the infleunce of a capping layer on the mechanical properties of the underlying support.