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A thermosensitive statistical copolymer based on oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates incorporating biotin was synthesized by free radical copolymerisation. The influence of added avidin on its thermoresponsive behaviour was investigated. The specific binding of avidin to the biotinylated copolymers provoked a marked increase of the lower critical solution temperature.
Homopolymers of N-acryloyl glycinamide were prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization in water. The formed macromolecules exhibit strong polymer-polymer interactions in aqueous milieu and therefore form thermoreversible physical hydrogels in pure water, physiological buffer or cell medium.
The fabrication of compartmented micellar systems is an exciting new area of research in the field of polymer self-assembly. Multicompartment micelles composed of a water-soluble shell and a segregated hydrophobic core can be obtained via direct aqueous self-assembly of preformed polymeric amphiphiles possessing one hydrophilic segment and two incompatible hydrophobic segments (e.g. hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon blocks). Such macromolecular building-blocks were prepared in the present work principally via reversible addition-fragmentation transfer polymerization (RAFT). Polysoaps or triblock macrosurfactants can be synthesized in high yields by RAFT under relatively straightforward experimental conditions.
Multicompartment micelles are complex nanosized systems that possess a hydrosoluble shell and a hydrophobic core, which is characterized by segregated incompatible subdomains. With roots starting about ten years ago, the field of multi compartment micelles has evolved slowly, until recently when significant achievements have been made. The present article reviews strategies for building such micellar assemblies as well as morphological studies, highlights the future challenges, and discusses possible applications, which exploit the coexistence of differentiated nano- domains. Formation of multi compartment micelles using miktoarm stars mu-(polyethylethylene)(poly(ethylene oxide))(poly(perfluoropropylene oxide)) and a cryo-TEM image visualizing the process
Recently, we introduced a thermoresponsive copolymer that consists of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (OEGMA) and 2-(2- methoxyethoxy) ethyl methacrylate (MEO(2)MA). The polymer exhibited an LCST at 35 degrees C in PBS buffer and was anchored onto gold substrates using disulfide polymerisation initiators. It allows the noninvasive detachment of adherent cells from their substrate. As the mechanisms that determine the interaction of cells with such polymers are not well understood, we employed Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy in order to monitor the detachment process of cells of two different types. We identified contact area and average cell-substrate distance as crucial parameters for the evaluation of the detachment process. The sensitivity of TIRF microscopy allowed us to correlate the specific adhesion pattern of MCF-7 breast cancer cells with the morphology of cell deposits that may serve as fingerprints for a nondestructive characterisation of live cells.
Stimuli-responsive macromolecules (i.e., pH-, thermo-, photo-, chemo-, and bioresponsive polymers) have gained exponential importance in materials science, nanotechnology, and biotechnology during the last two decades. This chapter describes the usefulness of this class of polymer for preparing smart surfaces (e.g., modified planar surfaces, particles surfaces, and surfaces of three-dimensional scaffolds). Some efficient pathways for connecting these macromolecules to inorganic, polymer, or biological substrates are described. In addition, some emerging bioapplications of smart polymer surfaces (e.g., antifouling surfaces, cell engineering, protein chromatography, tissue engineering, biochips, and bioassays) are critically discussed.
Smart bioactive surfaces
(2010)
The purpose of this highlight is to define the emerging field of bioactive surfaces. In recent years, various types of synthetic materials capable of "communicating'' with biological objects such as nucleic acids, proteins, polysaccharides, viruses, bacteria or living cells have been described in the literature. This novel area of research certainly goes beyond the traditional field of smart materials and includes different types of sophisticated interactions with biological entities, such as reversible adhesion, conformational control, biologically-triggered release and selective permeation. These novel materials may be 2D planar surfaces as well as colloidal objects or 3D scaffolds. Overall, they show great promise for numerous applications in biosciences and biotechnology. For instance, practical applications of bioactive surfaces in the fields of bioseparation, cell engineering, biochips and stem-cell differentiation are briefly discussed herein.