Speaker
Description
Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a synthetic, biodegradable aliphatic polyester widely used in tissue engineering and has been FDA-approved for various medical devices. However, its long-term performance is compromised by undesirable issues such as surface biofilm formation and a foreign body response (FBR)[1]. These adverse biological processes not only reduce scaffold functionality but also trigger chronic inflammatory responses[2]. To address this challenge, antifouling coatings present a promising strategy to mitigate biological fouling, potentially prolonging the durability of the scaffold and promoting tissue regeneration[3]. This study explores the impact of zwitterionic modification on PCL scaffolds to create a surface water layer that resists biomolecule attachment, resulting in the effectiveness of antifouling coatings in preventing these detrimental effects.
In this study, poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) was first coated onto PCL using the solvent casting. Briefly, PCL was soaked in a 10% PEGDA solution in a 1:1 water/acetone mixture for 10 minutes and then dried in a vacuum oven overnight to remove the solvent[4]. Next, sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) was functionalized onto the PEGDA-modified scaffold using vinyl crosslinking chemistry, combined with lithium phenyl-2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphosphinate and 405 nm wavelength visible light. The SBMA functionalization will be verified using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) or X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The expected binding energy peaks for sulfur and nitrogen are at 167 eV and 400 eV, respectively, which should not be detectable in neither neat PCL nor PEGDA-modified PCL scaffolds in XPS. Preliminary antifouling tests are planned, utilizing BSA, fibronectin, and E. coli adhesion assays.
In future work, a more detailed evaluation of the antifouling effects of these scaffolds will be conducted through in vitro studies of their antifouling capability in a physiological environment. Additionally, the water layer or substrate absorbance dynamics of the SBMA-PCL surface could be investigated using NMR and sum frequency generation spectroscopy (SFG).
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