Cell adhesion pattern created by OSTE polymers

摘要

Engineering surfaces with functional polymers is a crucial issue in the field of micro/nanofabricationand cell-material interface studies. For many applications of surface patterning, it does not need cellsto attach on the whole surface. Herein, we introduce a novel polymer fabrication protocol of offstoichiometry thiol-ene (OSTE) polymers to create heterogeneity on the surface by utilizing 3Dprinting and soft-lithography. By choosing two OSTE polymers with different functional groups, wecreate a pattern where only parts of the surface can facilitate cell adhesion. We also study thehydrophilic property of OSTE polymers by mixing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) directly with prepolymers and plasma treatments afterwards. Moreover, we investigate the effect of functional groups’excess ratio and hydrophilic property on the cell adhesion ability of OSTE polymers. The results showthat the cell adhesion ability of OSTE materials can be tuned within a wide range by the coupling effectof functional groups’ excess ratio and hydrophilic property. Meanwhile, by mixing PEG with prepolymers and undergoing oxygen plasma treatment afterward can significantly improve thehydrophilic property of OSTE polymers.