| AVS 59th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Monday Sessions |
| Session BI-MoA |
| Session: | Cell-Surface Interactions: High Throughput Methodologies |
| Presenter: | M. Hammad, University of Nottingham, UK |
| Authors: | M. Hammad, University of Nottingham, UK D.G. Anderson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology R. Langer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.R. Alexander, University of Nottingham, UK M.C. Davies, University of Nottingham, UK |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Improved biomaterials are required for application in areas such as regenerative medicine, biosensors, and medical devices. The performance of such materials is often dependent on their surface properties which can influence factors such as cell attachment and in-vivo biocompatibility and assimilation. High throughput (HT) materials discovery techniques have been developed to gain a greater fundamental understanding of the nature of the cell-surface interaction[1]. We have developed polymer microarray systems using several hundred unique polymers synthesised rapidly on-slide enabling parallel assessment of cell-surface response[2]. HT materials discovery is thus possible when this platform is combined with HT surface characterisation derived structure activity relationships[3].
The response of cells to these materials is controlled by the identity and conformation of the proteins adsorbed to the surface, which is in turn controlled by the chemistry of the underlying substrate. The complex nature of protein adsorption and their diversity in typical culture conditions makes this a difficult process to follow in-situ. Flaim et al. illustrated how printing of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins can be used to investigate their role in stem cell differentiation and adhesion on a hydrogel surface[4]. We use an adaption of this methodology to analyse proteins adsorbed to a range of polymer surfaces in the form of spots on the array using piezo dosed solutions of ECM proteins. We have achieved this on polymer microarray systems, illustrating the ability to control both the pre-adsorption and also surface protein composition. Surface chemical analysis techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry are used to characterise the protein identity and distribution at the surface. Polymerisation was achieved using the deposition of monomer solutions by piezo dispensing nozzles in an array format onto pHEMA coated substrates before the slides were irradiated with a long wave UV source. ECM protein solutions were then printed on the polymer spots allowing cell response to be correlated with protein surface composition using the same apparatus.
1. Hook, A.L., et al. Biomaterials, 2010. (2): p. 187-198.
2. Anderson, D.G., S. Levenberg, and R. Langer Nature Biotechnology, 2004. (7): p. 863-866.
3. Mei, Y., et al Nature Materials, 2010. (9): p. 768-778.
4. Flaim, C.J., S. Chien, and S.N. Bhatia Nature Methods, 2005. (2): p. 119-125.