Towards cell-based microsystems: Cell-adhesion on polymerized peptide-amphiphilic microstructures

Abstract:
Polymerizable peptide-amphiphiles, i.e. polymerizable fatty acids that are linked to a bioactive peptide headgroup, are prepared and used as molecular building units for the design of 2- and 3-D bioactive materials, which promote the adhesion and spreading of living cells. The versatility of these building blocks is demonstrated with two examples, one where solid supported polymerized peptide-amphiphile monolayers are used to study the adhesion and outgrowth of fibroblast cells, and the other, where polymerized vesicles made from peptideamphiphiles are micro-contact printed on a polymer hydrogel that does not support the attachment of cells. With the latter approach, i.e. a vesicle-based live cell array, we are able to spatially control the outgrowth of model cell-lines.