| AVS 60th International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session BI-WeM |
| Session: | Cell-Surface Interactions |
| Presenter: | A.L. Hook, University of Nottingham, UK |
| Authors: | A.L. Hook, University of Nottingham, UK C. Chang, University of Nottingham, UK R. Langer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology D.G. Anderson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology P. Williams, University of Nottingham, UK M.C. Davies, University of Nottingham, UK M.R. Alexander, University of Nottingham, UK |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Polymer microarrays for the high throughput discovery of novel switchable materials
Andrew L. Hooka, Chien-Yi Changb, Robert Langerc, Daniel G. Andersonc, Paul Williamsb, Martyn C. Daviesa, Morgan R. Alexandera
aLaboratory of Biophysics and Surface Analysis, University of Nottingham, UK
bSchool of Molecular Medical Sciences, University of Nottingham, UK
cDavid H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Polymer microarrays have become a key enabling technology for high throughput materials discovery. This format has been applied to a broad range of biological systems, from stem cell attachment to the resistance of bacterial attachment.1 Switchable materials have also been a focus of materials research as they provide temporal control of biological systems. Switchable materials are able to alter their surface or physical properties in response to an external specific signal such as a change in temperature, pH, or concentration of a signal molecule. This class of materials has been applied to drug delivery and controlled cell attachment.
We have applied polymer microarrays for the discovery of novel switchable materials that are able to temporally manipulate biological systems.2,3 Polymer microarrays were formed by printing mixtures of acrylate monomers, followed by UV curing and vacuum extraction. This enabled arrays of hundreds of unique materials to be produced. We screened these materials for switchable properties using AFM, WCA, optical microscopy and ToF-SIMS. The focus of this work was to identify materials with thermally induced changes in chemistry or topography.2,3 Using these methods we discovered novel materials with unique switchable properties. In particular, ToF-SIMS analysis provided insight into the conformational changes induced in the polymers by the change in temperature.2 These were applied to investigate the attachment of bacteria to surfaces, where we were able to temporally control the interaction of bacteria with a polymer surface. These materials have potential application for regenerative filtration devices.
1. Hook et al., Biomaterials, 2010, 31, (2), 187-198.
2. Hook et al., Surface and Interface Analysis, 2013, 45, (1), 181-184.
3. Hook et al., Soft Matter, 2011, 7, (16), 7194-7197.