Click functionalization of methacrylate‐based hydrogels and their cellular response |
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Authors: | Miriem Santander‐Borrego David W. Green Traian V. Chirila Andrew K. Whittaker Idriss Blakey |
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Affiliation: | 1. The University of Queensland, Australian Institute for the Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, , St Lucia, Queensland, 4072 Australia;2. The Queensland Eye Institute, , Queensland, 4101 Australia;3. The University of Queensland, School of Medicine, , Herston, Queensland, 4029 Australia;4. Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, , Brisbane, Queensland, 4001 Australia;5. University of Western Australia, Faculty of Science, , Crawley, Western Australia, 6009 Australia;6. The University of Queensland, , Queensland, 4072 Australia |
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Abstract: | Methacrylate‐based hydrogels, such as homo‐ and copolymers of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), have demonstrated significant potential for use in biomedical applications. However, many of these hydrogels tend to resist cell attachment and growth at their surfaces, which can be detrimental for certain applications. In this article, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was copolymerized with HEMA to generate gels functionalized with epoxide groups. The epoxides were then functionalized by two sequential click reactions, namely, nucleophilic ring opening of epoxides with sodium azide and then coupling of small molecules and peptides via Huisgen's copper catalyzed 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of azides with alkynes. Using this strategy it was possible to control the degree of functionalization by controlling the feed ratio of monomers during polymerization. In vitro cell culture of human retinal pigment epithelial cell line (ARPE‐19) with the hydrogels showed improved cell adhesion, growth and proliferation for hydrogels that were functionalized with a peptide containing the RGD sequence. In addition, the cell attachment progressively decreased with increasing densities of the RGD containing peptide. In summary, a facile methodology has been presented that gives rise to hydrogels with controlled degrees of functionality, such that the cell response is directly related to the levels and nature of that functionality. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1781–1789 |
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Keywords: | biomaterials click chemistry functionalization of polymers hydrogels peptide |
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