TY - JOUR

T1 - Switchable Oligo(glycidyl ether) Acrylate Bottlebrushes "grafted-from" Polystyrene Surfaces

T2 - A Versatile Strategy toward Functional Cell Culture Substrates

AU - Stöbener, Daniel David

AU - Scholz, Johanna

AU - Schedler, Uwe

AU - Weinhart, Marie

N1 - Funding Information: M.W. is grateful to financial support from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research through Grant FKZ: 13N13523. The authors are grateful to Dr. Andreas Furchner for helpful comments and discussion on the ellipsometry data. The authors further thank Dr. Anke Hoppensack for proof reading this manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society.

PY - 2018/11/12

Y1 - 2018/11/12

N2 - Thermoresponsive brushes based on linear poly(glycidyl ether)s (PGEs) have already shown to be functional coatings for cell sheet fabrication. In here, we introduce a method to functionalize polystyrene (PS) tissue culture substrates with thermoresponsive coatings comprising glycidyl ether-based bottlebrush architectures. Utilizing the UV-induced "grafting-from" approach, thermoresponsive oligo(glycidyl ether) acrylate (OGEA) macromonomers were polymerized from PS substrates under bulk conditions. Applying ellipsometry, water contact angle (CA), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, we found that OGEA coatings exhibit a complex, gel-like structure comprising nanosized roughness and exhibit a temperature-dependent phase transition in water through the reversible hydration of OGEA bottlebrush side chains. To assess the utility of the coatings as functional substrates for cell sheet fabrication, human dermal fibroblast (HDF) adhesion and detachment were investigated. By adjusting the bottlebrush properties via the grafting procedure and coating structure, we were able to harvest confluent HDF sheets from functionalized PS substrates in a temperature-triggered, controlled manner. As the first report on surface-grafted bottlebrushes comprising thermoresponsive side chains with molecular weight of up to 1 kDa, this study demonstrates the potential of OGEA-based coatings for cell sheet fabrication.

AB - Thermoresponsive brushes based on linear poly(glycidyl ether)s (PGEs) have already shown to be functional coatings for cell sheet fabrication. In here, we introduce a method to functionalize polystyrene (PS) tissue culture substrates with thermoresponsive coatings comprising glycidyl ether-based bottlebrush architectures. Utilizing the UV-induced "grafting-from" approach, thermoresponsive oligo(glycidyl ether) acrylate (OGEA) macromonomers were polymerized from PS substrates under bulk conditions. Applying ellipsometry, water contact angle (CA), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, we found that OGEA coatings exhibit a complex, gel-like structure comprising nanosized roughness and exhibit a temperature-dependent phase transition in water through the reversible hydration of OGEA bottlebrush side chains. To assess the utility of the coatings as functional substrates for cell sheet fabrication, human dermal fibroblast (HDF) adhesion and detachment were investigated. By adjusting the bottlebrush properties via the grafting procedure and coating structure, we were able to harvest confluent HDF sheets from functionalized PS substrates in a temperature-triggered, controlled manner. As the first report on surface-grafted bottlebrushes comprising thermoresponsive side chains with molecular weight of up to 1 kDa, this study demonstrates the potential of OGEA-based coatings for cell sheet fabrication.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056261092&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b00933

DO - 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b00933

M3 - Article

C2 - 30339748

AN - SCOPUS:85056261092

VL - 19

SP - 4207

EP - 4218

JO - Biomacromolecules

JF - Biomacromolecules

SN - 1525-7797

IS - 11

ER -