In-depth analysis of switchable glycerol based polymeric coatings for cell sheet engineering.

Scaffold-free cell sheet engineering using thermoresponsive substrates provides a promising alternative to conventional tissue engineering which in general employs biodegradable scaffold materials. We have previously developed a thermoresponsive coating with glycerol based linear copolymers that enables gentle harvesting of entire cell sheets. In this article we present an in-depth analysis of these thermoresponsive linear polyglycidyl ethers and their performance as coating for substrates in cell culture in comparison with commercially available poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) coated culture dishes. A series of copolymers of glycidyl methyl ether (GME) and glycidyl ethyl ether (EGE) was prepared in order to study their thermoresponsive properties in solution and on the surface with respect to the comonomer ratio. In both cases, when grafted to planar surfaces or spherical nanoparticles, the applied thermoresponsive polyglycerol coatings render the respective surfaces switchable. Protein adsorption experiments on copolymer coated planar surfaces with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy reveal the ability of the tested thermoresponsive coatings to be switched between highly protein resistant and adsorptive states. Cell culture experiments demonstrate that these thermoresponsive coatings allow for adhesion and proliferation of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts comparable to TCPS and faster than on PNIPAM substrates. Temperature triggered detachment of complete cell sheets from copolymer coated substrates was accomplished within minutes while maintaining high viability of the harvested cells. Thus such glycerol based copolymers present a promising alternative to PNIPAM as a thermoresponsive coating of cell culture substrates.

Polyglycerol based coatings to reduce non-specific protein adsorption in sample vials and on SPR sensors.

Coatings based on dendritic polyglycerol (dPG) were investigated for their use to control nonspecific protein adsorption in an assay targeted to analyze concentrations of a specific protein. We demonstrate that coating of the sample vial with dPG can significantly increase the recovery of an antibody after incubation. First, we determine the concentration dependent loss of an antibody due to nonspecific adsorption to glass via quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). Complementary to the QCM measurements, we applied the same antibody as analyte in an surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assay to determine the loss of analyte due to nonspecific adsorption to the sample vial. For this purpose, we used two different coatings based on dPG. For the first coating, which served as a matrix for the SPR sensor, carboxyl groups were incorporated into dPG as well as a dithiolane moiety enabling covalent immobilization to the gold sensor surface. This SPR-matrix exhibited excellent protein resistant properties and allowed the immobilization of amyloid peptides via amide bond formation. The second coating which was intended to prevent nonspecific adsorption to glass vials comprised a silyl moiety that allowed covalent grafting to glass. For demonstrating the impact of the vial coating on the accuracy of an SPR assay, we immobilized amyloid beta (Aß) 1-40 and used an anti-Aß 1-40 antibody as analyte. Alternate injection of analyte into the flow cell of the SPR device from uncoated and coated vials, respectively gave us the relative signal loss (1-RUuncoated/RUcoated) caused by the nonspecific adsorption. We found that the relative signal loss increases with decreasing analyte concentration. The SPR data correlate well with concentration dependent non-specific adsorption experiments of the analyte to glass surfaces performed with QCM. Our measurements show that rendering both the sample vial and the sensor surface is crucial for accurate results in protein assays.

Multivalent anchored and crosslinked hyperbranched polyglycerol monolayers as antifouling coating for titanium oxide surfaces.

A set of new catecholic monolayer coatings was developed to improve the antifouling performance of TiO2 surfaces. To solve the problem of the weak charge-transfer interaction between a single catechol anchor and TiO2, multiple catechol groups were combined with hyperbranched polyglycerol (hPG) which is a distinct dendritic scaffold that exposes its multivalent anchor groups on the surface. Thus, multivalent catecholic hPGs can be easily prepared for surface modification. The immobilization of the compounds was monitored by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring. Surface properties of the coatings were analyzed by water contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The antifouling ability and stability were investigated by protein adsorption and cell adhesion. By increasing the number of catechol groups on the hPG scaffold, the stability and surface coverage could be significantly enhanced. Moreover, the inner-layer crosslinking of the coatings by grafting and initiating vinyl groups clearly improved their long-term stability. As a result, hPG with a catecholic functional degree of 10% (hPG-Cat10) and hPG with both catecholic and vinylic functional degree of 5% (hPG-Cat5-V5) were identified as the best catecholic hPGs to prepare bioinert and stable monolayer coatings on TiO2.

Protein interactions with polymer coatings and biomaterials.

Protein adsorption is considered to be the most important factor of the interaction between polymeric biomaterials and body fluids or tissues. Water-mediated hydrophobic and hydration forces as well as electrostatic interactions are believed to be the major factors of protein adsorption. A systematic analysis of various monolayer systems has resulted in general guidelines, the so-called "Whitesides rules". These concepts have been successfully applied for designing various protein-resistant surfaces and are being studied to expand the understanding of protein-material interactions beyond existing limitations. Theories on the mechanisms of protein adsorption are constantly being improved due to the fast-developing analytical technologies. This Review is aimed at improving these empirical guidelines with regard to present theoretical and analytical advances. Current analytical methods to test mechanistic hypotheses and theories of protein-surface interactions will be discussed. Special focus will be given to state-of-the-art bioinert and biospecific coatings and their applications in biomedicine.

Multivalent anchoring and cross-linking of mussel-inspired antifouling surface coatings.

In this work, we combine nature's amazing bioadhesive catechol with the excellent bioinert synthetic macromolecule hyperbranched polyglycerol (hPG) to prepare antifouling surfaces. hPG can be functionalized by different amounts of catechol groups for multivalent anchoring and cross-linking because of its highly branched architecture. The catecholic hPGs can be immobilized on various surfaces including metal oxides, noble metals, ceramics, and polymers via simple incubation procedures. The effect of the catechol amount on the immobilization, surface morphology, stability, and antifouling performance of the coatings was studied. Both anchoring and cross-linking interactions provided by catechols can enhance the stability of the coatings. When the catechol groups on the hPG are underrepresented, the tethering of the coating is not effective; while an overrepresentation of catechol groups leads to protein adsorption and cell adhesion. Thus, only a well-balanced amount of catechols as optimized and described in this work can supply the coatings with both good stability and antifouling ability.

A universal approach to crosslinked hierarchical polymer multilayers as stable and highly effective antifouling coatings.

Material-independent and bioinert hierarchical polymer multilayer coatings are presented. Chemically active catecholic hyperbranched polyglycerols (hPGs) form a foundation layer on a versatile surface via multivalent anchoring and crosslinking, the activity of which is shielded by the bioinert catecholic hPGs. Mono-catecholic hPGs finally terminate all of the free catechols to build a flexible bioinert top layer. These coatings perfectly prevent protein and cell adhesion.

Multivalent grafting of hyperbranched oligo- and polyglycerols shielding rough membranes to mediate hemocompatibility.

Hemocompatible materials are needed for internal and extracorporeal biomedical applications, which should be realizable by reducing protein and thrombocyte adhesion to such materials. Polyethers have been demonstrated to be highly efficient in this respect on smooth surfaces. Here, we investigate the grafting of oligo- and polyglycerols to rough poly(ether imide) membranes as a polymer relevant to biomedical applications and show the reduction of protein and thrombocyte adhesion as well as thrombocyte activation. It could be demonstrated that, by performing surface grafting with oligo- and polyglycerols of relatively high polydispersity (>1.5) and several reactive groups for surface anchoring, full surface shielding can be reached, which leads to reduced protein adsorption of albumin and fibrinogen. In addition, adherent thrombocytes were not activated. This could be clearly shown by immunostaining adherent proteins and analyzing the thrombocyte covered area. The presented work provides an important strategy for the development of application relevant hemocompatible 3D structured materials.

Polyglycerol coatings of glass vials for protein resistance.

Proteins are surface active molecules which undergo non-specific adsorption when getting in contact with surfaces such as the primary packaging material. This process is critical as it may cause a loss of protein content or protein aggregation. To prevent unspecific adsorption, protein repellent coatings are of high interest. We describe the coating of industrial relevant borosilicate glass vials with linear methoxylated polyglycerol, hyperbranched polyglycerol, and hyperbranched methoxylated polyglycerol. All coatings provide excellent protein repellent effects. The hyperbranched, non-methoxylated coating performed best. The protein repellent properties were maintained also after applying industrial relevant sterilization methods (≥200 °C). Marginal differences in antibody stability between formulations stored in bare glass vials and coated vials were detected after 3 months storage; the protein repellent effect remained largely stable. Here, we describe a new material suitable for the coating of primary packaging material of proteins which significantly reduces the protein adsorption and thus could present an interesting new possibility for biomedical applications.

Effect of polymer brush architecture on antibiofouling properties.

Polymer brushes show great promise in next-generation antibiofouling surfaces. Here, we have studied the influence of polymer brush architecture on protein resistance. By carefully optimizing reaction conditions, we were able to polymerize oligoglycerol-based brushes with sterically demanding linear or dendronized side chains on gold surfaces. Protein adsorption from serum and plasma was analyzed by surface plasmon resonance. Our findings reveal a pronounced dependence of biofouling on brush architecture. Bulky yet flexible side chains as in dendronized brushes provide an ideal environment to repel protein-possibly through formation of a hydration layer, which can be further enhanced by presenting free hydroxyl groups on the polymer brushes. A deeper understanding of how brush architecture influences protein resistance will ultimately enable fabrication of surface coatings tailored to specific requirements in biomedical applications.

Switchable, biocompatible surfaces based on glycerol copolymers.

Two thermoresponsive copolymers based on glycerol were synthesized and tethered onto gold surfaces via SAM formation. Below the LCST protein resistant surfaces were obtained while fibrinogen adsorbed above the LCST. It was demonstrated that these switchable properties can be applied to control fibroblast cell adhesion and detachment.

Mass spectrometric study of oligourea macrocycles and their anion binding behavior.

Two series, one of tris-urea macrocycles and another of hexakis-urea macrocycles, are examined by (tandem) Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry with respect to their fragmentation patterns and anion binding properties. All macrocycles are based on two different building blocks, one of which is a very rigid xanthene unit and the other one is a more flexible diphenyl ether. The composition and the sequence of these units thus determine their flexibility. During the fragmentation of deprotonated oligourea macrocycles in the gas phase, one urea N-CO bond is cleaved followed by a scrambling reaction within the macrocycle structure. Consequently, fragments are observed that deviate from those that would be expected from the sequence of the subunits. Interesting anion binding properties involve the simultaneous recognition of two chloride anions by one of the hexakis-urea macrocycles, whose flexibility allows this host to form a double-helical structure. Flexibility also determines which of the hexameric receptors bears a high sulfate affinity. The interaction energy between some of the macrocycles and sulfate is high enough to even stabilize the intrinsically unstable sulfate dianion.