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Nonfouling surfaces are essential for many biomedical applications, such as diagnostic biosensors and blood- or tissue-contacting implants. In this study, we demonstrate a simple one-step method to introduce dextran onto various substrates based on dopamine polymerization. It has been shown for the first time that dextran molecules could be incorporated into a dopamine polymerization product via mixing dextran with dopamine in a slightly alkaline solution. The codeposited film was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the water contact angle, ellipsometry, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results reveal that it is possible to control the thickness and surface roughness via the deposition time and deposition repeat cycles. Furthermore, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements show that the dextran-modified surface inhibits protein adhesion. In addition, cell attachment has been significantly inhibited on dextran-modified surfaces even after exposure to water for as long as 2 months. The described dopamine-assisted dextran modification represents a simple and universal method for nonfouling surface preparation and can be potentially applied to improve the performance of various medical devices and materials.

Many synthetic hydrogels for cell encapsulation have hitherto been based on polyethylene glycol which is non-natural, non-biodegradable and only terminal-functionalizable, all of which are drawbacks for tissue engineering or cell delivery. The polysaccharide dextran is also highly hydrophilic but biodegradable and pendant-functionalizable and more closely resembles glycosaminoglycans to mimic the natural extracellular matrix. This study reports synthesis of a methacrylate and lysine functionalized dextran and development of hydrogel composite systems based on this material and methacrylamide modified gelatin. The mechanical stiffness and degree of swelling of the hydrogels were varied by manipulation of the degree of functionalization of dextran and gelatin and concentration/composition of precursor solution. Human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were encapsulated inside hydrogels during gel hardening with photopolymerization. Rapid cell spreading, extensive cellular network formation and high SMC proliferation occurred within softer hydrogels (with shear storage moduli ranging from 898 to 3124Pa). The encapsulated SMCs appear to be relatively contractile in the initial culture than on tissue culture polystyrene dish due to physical constraint imposed by the hydrogels but they become more synthetic with time possibly due to the inability of cells to reach confluence inside these cell-mediated degradable hydrogels. From the impressive cell proliferation and network formation, these new hydrogels combining polysaccharide and protein derivatives appear to be excellent candidates for further development as bioactive scaffolds for use in vascular tissue engineering and regeneration., ((c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Hydrogel networks are highly desirable as three-dimensional (3-D) tissue engineering scaffolds for cell encapsulation due to the high water content and ability to mimick the native extracellular matrix. However, their application is limited by their nanometer-scale mesh size, which restricts the spreading and proliferation of encapsulated cells, and their poor mechanical properties. This study seeks to address both limitations through application of a novel cell-encapsulating hydrogel family based on the interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) of gelatin and dextran bifunctionalized with methacrylate (MA) and aldehyde (AD) (Dex-MA-AD). The chemical structure of the synthesized Dex-MA-AD was verified by (1)H-NMR and the degrees of substitution of MA and AD were found to be 14 and 13.9+/-1.3 respectively. The water contents in all these hydrogels were approximately 80%. Addition of 40 mg/ml to 60 mg/ml gelatin to neat Dex-MA-AD increased the compressive modulus from 15.4+/-3.0 kPa to around 51.9+/-0.1 kPa (about 3.4-fold). Further, our IPN hydrogels have higher dynamic storage moduli (i.e. on the order of 10(4)Pa) than polyethylene glycol-based hydrogels (around 10(2)-10(3)Pa) commonly used for smooth muscle cells (SMCs) encapsulation. Our dextran-based IPN hydrogels not only supported endothelial cells (ECs) adhesion and spreading on the surface, but also allowed encapsulated SMCs to proliferate and spread in the bulk interior of the hydrogel. These IPN hydrogels appear promising as 3-D scaffolds for vascular tissue engineering.

Surface modification of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film was performed by surface hydrolysis and layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly followed a mechanism of electrostatic adsorption of oppositely charged polymers, exemplified with chitosan and chondroitin sulfate (CS). Hydrolysis of PET in concentrated alkaline solution produced a carboxyl-enriched surface. The changes of weight loss and surface chemistry, morphology and wettability were monitored and verified by UV-vis spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and water contact angle. Assembly of positively charged chitosan and negatively charged CS was then conducted in a LBL manner to create multilayers on the hydrolyzed PET film. The process of layer growth and oscillation of surface wettability were monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy and water contact angle measurement, respectively. In vitro cell culture revealed that the adherence of endothelial cells was significantly enhanced on the biomacromolecules-modified PET film with preserved endothelial cell function, in particular on those assembled with larger number of chitosan/CS layers. However, with regard to cell proliferation and viability properties after cultured for 4 days, minor difference was determined between the modified and the unmodified PET films.

We recently developed several methods to enhance the cell-polymer interactions. Optimal conditions for each method have been revealed separately by in vitro cell culture. As a practical consideration for construction of tissue-engineered organs, it is necessary to consider which is the most suitable and convenient in clinical applications. To compare the efficiency of these methods with respect to cell functions, poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) was selected as matrix being modified by 1) aminolysis (PLLA-NH(2)), 2) collagen immobilization with GA (PLLA-GA-Col), 3) chondroitin sulfate (CS)/collagen layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly (PLLA-CS/Col), 4) photo-induced grafting copolymerization of hydrophilic methacrylic acid (MAA) (PLLA-g-PMAA), and 5) further immobilization of collagen with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylamino propyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDAC) (PLLA-g-PMAA-Col). The surface wettability of the modified PLLA was determined by water contact angle measurements. The cell response to the modified PLLA was quantitatively assessed and compared by using human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVECs) culture. Our results indicate that all the modifications can improve the cytocompatibility of PLLA (e.g., cells can attach with spreading morphology, proliferate and secret vWF and 6-keto-PGF(1 alpha)). All the collagen-modified PLLA showed more positive cell response than those purely aminolyzed or PMAA grafted. Among all the methods, collagen immobilization by LBL assembly or GA bridging after aminolysis is more acceptable for the convenience and applicability to scaffolds., (Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 69A: 436-443, 2004)