Controlled wettability, same chemistry: biological activity of plasma-polymerized coatings

Cantini, M. , Rico, P., Moratal, D. and Salmerón-Sánchez, M. (2012) Controlled wettability, same chemistry: biological activity of plasma-polymerized coatings. Soft Matter, 8(20), pp. 5575-5584. (doi: 10.1039/c2sm25413a)

Abstract

Plasma polymerization was used to produce novel nanometric coatings able to direct fibronectin adsorption and cell response. Using ethyl acrylate as a monomer, we obtain coatings whose chemical composition maintains some of the characteristic functionalities of the photo-initiated polymer, while the water contact angle increases monotonically with the duration of the plasma discharge. Enhanced surface mobility of the polymer chains due to a decrease of the thickness of the coating justifies this increase in wettability at lower treatment times. The coatings with higher surface mobility are shown to promote a more active conformation of the adsorbed protein, as proved by binding of the monoclonal antibodies HFN7.1 and mAb1937. Culture of MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cells onto the fibronectin-coated substrates further proves that the more mobile surfaces support better initial cell adhesion, even at low fibronectin surface density, as well as stronger cell-mediated fibronectin reorganization.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Salmeron-Sanchez, Professor Manuel and Cantini, Dr Marco
• Authors: Cantini, M., Rico, P., Moratal, D., and Salmerón-Sánchez, M.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering
• Journal Name: Soft Matter
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• ISSN: 1744-683X
• ISSN (Online): 1744-6848
• Published Online: 13 April 2012