Surface Modification of Polymers with 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane as a General Pretreatment for Controlled Wettability

Spinal cord injury immunosensor: Sensitive detection of S100β on interdigitated electrode sensor

A spinal cord injury is damage to the nerves and cells that receive and provide a signal from the brain to the rest of the body. Spinal injury causes changes in movement, sensation, and strength, affect the body functions near the injury site, and may lead to paralysis. S100β was found as a suitable biomarker for identifying spinal cord injury and its causing problem. Herein, S100β immunoassay was developed on interdigitated electrode sensor to diagnose spinal cord injury. For effective anti-S100β antibody immobilization, the antibody was premixed with 3-Aminopropyl)triethoxsilane and then attached to the hydroxylated interdigitated electrode surface. This method of antibody immobilization enhanced the antibody attachment two-times than the method without premix. Antibody-attached surfaces increased current responses as S100 concentrations increased, and the limit of detection was seen to be 1 pg/mL on the linearity until 3000 pg/mL at an R2 value of 0.9907 [y = 7x - 6.4667]. Further, biofouling experiments with glial fibrillary acidic protein and γ-aminobutyric acid failed to enhance the current response, indicating the specific detection of S100β. This immunoassay identifies S100β at its lower level and helps to diagnose spinal cord injury and its related problem.

Microstructured Magnetoactive Elastomers for Switchable Wettability

We demonstrate the control of wettability of non-structured and microstructured magnetoactive elastomers (MAEs) by magnetic field. The synthesized composite materials have a concentration of carbonyl iron particles of 75 wt.% (≈27 vol.%) and three different stiffnesses of the elastomer matrix. A new method of fabrication of MAE coatings on plastic substrates is presented, which allows one to enhance the response of the apparent contact angle to the magnetic field by exposing the particle-enriched side of MAEs to water. A magnetic field is not applied during crosslinking. The highest variation of the contact angle from (113 ± 1)° in zero field up to (156 ± 2)° at about 400 mT is achieved in the MAE sample with the softest matrix. Several lamellar and pillared MAE structures are fabricated by laser micromachining. The lateral dimension of surface structures is about 50 µm and the depth varies between 3 µm and 60 µm. A systematic investigation of the effects of parameters of laser processing (laser power and the number of passages of the laser beam) on the wetting behavior of these structures in the absence and presence of a magnetic field is performed. In particular, strong anisotropy of the wetting behavior of lamellar structures is observed. The results are qualitatively discussed in the framework of the Wenzel and Cassie–Baxter models. Finally, directions of further research on magnetically controlled wettability of microstructured MAE surfaces are outlined. The obtained results may be useful for the development of magnetically controlled smart surfaces for droplet-based microfluidics.

Remote Floating-Gate Field-Effect Transistor with 2-Dimensional Reduced Graphene Oxide Sensing Layer for Reliable Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Proteins

Despite intensive research of nanomaterials-based field-effect transistors (FETs) as a rapid diagnostic tool, it remains to be seen for FET sensors to be used for clinical applications due to a lack of stability, reliability, reproducibility, and scalability for mass production. Herein, we propose a remote floating-gate (RFG) FET configuration to eliminate device-to-device variations of two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sensing surfaces and most of the instability at the solution interface. Also, critical mechanistic factors behind the electrochemical instability of rGO such as severe drift and hysteresis were identified through extensive studies on rGO-solution interfaces varied by rGO thickness, coverage, and reduction temperature. rGO surfaces in our RFGFET structure displayed a Nernstian response of 54 mV/pH (from pH 2 to 11) with a 90% yield (9 samples out of total 10), coefficient of variation (CV) < 3%, and a low drift rate of 2%, all of which were calculated from the absolute measurement values. As proof-of-concept, we demonstrated highly reliable, reproducible, and label-free detection of spike proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a saliva-relevant media with concentrations ranging from 500 fg/mL to 5 μg/mL, with an R² value of 0.984 and CV < 3%, and a guaranteed limit of detection at a few pg/mL. Taken together, this new platform may have an immense effect on positioning FET bioelectronics in a clinical setting for detecting SARS-CoV-2.

Silanization of Plasma-Activated Hexamethyldisiloxane-Based Plasma Polymers for Substrate-Independent Deposition of Coatings with Controlled Surface Chemistry

Plasma polymerization has emerged as an appealing technique for surface modification because of its advantages over a variety of conventional techniques, including ease-of-use and the possibility to modify nearly any substrate. One of the main challenges of plasma polymer-based surface modification, however, is having control over the coating chemistry, as plasma deposition generates a diversity of chemical structures. Therefore, this study presents an alternative plasma-based method for the fabrication of coatings that contain selective functionalities. In a first step, hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) plasma polymerization is performed in a medium-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) to deposit polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-like coatings. In a second step, this coating is exposed to an air plasma in a similar DBD setup to introduce silanol groups on the surface. These groups are used in a third and final step as anchoring points for grafting of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and (3-bromopropyl)trichlorosilane (BrPTCS) to selectively introduce amino or bromo groups, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water contact angle (WCA) measurements indicated that the first two steps were successful. Moreover, the coating could be synthesized on three different surfaces, namely, glass, ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene, and polytetrafluoroethylene, indicating the wide applicability of the developed procedure. Afterward, XPS also proved that the APTES and BrPTCS grafting resulted in the formation of a coating containing primary amines and alkyl bromides, respectively, in combination with an organosilicon matrix containing silanol groups as remaining reactive groups, proving the successful synthesis of selective functional plasma-based coatings. The intermediate air-plasma-activation step was demonstrated to be necessary for successful and stable grafting of the final layer. In conclusion, this study established a general procedure for the development of coatings with selective functionality that can be applied on a wide variety of substrates for, e.g., biosensor applications, biomolecule, or polymer immobilization or for the synthesis of antibacterial coatings.

Optimizing glass-ceramic bonding incorporating new silane technology in an experimental universal adhesive formulation

OBJECTIVE

Incorporating silane-coupling agent into universal adhesives (UAs) to simplify adhesive luting of glass-ceramic restorations appeared ineffective due to silane's instability in an acidic aqueous solution. This study aimed to evaluate new silane technology added to an experimental UA to be bonded to glass ceramics without separate prior silanization.

METHODS

Combined silane technology, consisting of 3-(aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and γ-methacryloxypropyltriethoxysilane (γMPTES), was incorporated into an experimental UA formulation, being referred to as ADH-XTE (3M Oral Care). Immediate and aged shear bond strength (SBS) of ADH-XTE onto as-milled ('AM'), tribochemical silica-coated ('TSC'), HF-etched ('HF'), and mirror-polished ('MP') glass-ceramic CAD/CAM blocks (IPS e.max CAD) with/without separate silanization was measured (n = 10/group). The control adhesives included Scotchbond Universal ('SBU') and Scotchbond 1 XT ('SB1-XT'). The glass-ceramic surface topography and the fractography of the SBS-debonded specimens were observed by SEM.

RESULTS

Without separate prior silanization, the experimental UA ADH-XTE, containing combined APTES/γMPTES silane technology, significantly outperformed the glass-ceramic bonding efficiency of its silane-containing SBU precursor, while it performed equally effective as SBU applied with prior silanization. Upon aging, significant reduction in SBS was recorded when ADH-XTE was bonded to TSC glass-ceramic surfaces (p < 0.05), while not to HF ones. Notably, the lowest SBS was obtained when the UAs were bonded to AM and MP glass-ceramic surfaces, in particular when applied without separate prior silanization (p < 0.05).

SIGNIFICANCE

The glass-ceramic bonding capacity of the new combined APTES/γMPTES silane-containing UA ADH-XTE surpassed that of its SBU precursor. HF etching remains needed to durably bond to glass-ceramics.

Surface-Functionalized Conducting Nanofibers for Electrically Stimulated Neural Cell Function

Strategies involving the inclusion of cell-instructive chemical and topographical cues to smart biomaterials in combination with a suitable physical stimulus may be beneficial to enhance nerve-regeneration rate. In this regard, we investigated the surface functionalization of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV)-based electroconductive electrospun nanofibers coupled with externally applied electrical stimulus for accelerated neuronal growth potential. In addition, the voltage-dependent conductive mechanism of the nanofibers was studied in depth to interlink intrinsic conductive properties with electrically stimulated neuronal expressions. Surface functionalization was accomplished using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and 1,6-hexanediamine (HDA) as an alternative to costly biomolecule coating (e.g., collagen) for cell adhesion. The nanofibers were uniform, porous, electrically conductive, mechanically strong, and stable under physiological conditions. Surface amination boosted biocompatibility, 3T3 cell adhesion, and spreading, while the neuronal model rat PC12 cell line showed better differentiation on surface-functionalized mats compared to nonfunctionalized mats. When coupled with electrical stimulation (ES), these mats showed comparable or faster neurite formation and elongation than the collagen-coated mats with no-ES conditions. The findings indicate that surface amination in combination with ES may provide an improved strategy to faster nerve regeneration using MEH-PPV-based neural scaffolds.

Influence of MgO-Lignin Dual Component Additives on Selected Properties of Low Density Polyethylene

The presented study describes the application of lignin-based dual component fillers into low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and an examination of their selected properties. The main experimental procedure was focused on the preparation of thin sheet films using polyethylene and its composites with 5% by wt. of fillers: MgO, MgO-lignin dual phase systems with varying amounts of lignin and pristine lignin. Analysis of morphology revealed that elongated voids appeared in the structure for hybrid filler with a higher content of lignin (min. 50% by wt. of lignin versus MgO) and also for pristine lignin. Moreover, the prepared sheets were subjected to the thermoforming process by using the positive forming method (male mold). The thermoforming ability of all composites was evaluated by means of a comparison of wall thickness distribution on thermoformed shapes. The most noticeable percentage of wall thinning occurred for films which consisted of LDPE/MgO-lignin (5:1 wt./wt.) composite. In contrast, the best material arrangement and the highest mean percentage wall thickness were observed in the case of the shape formed with LDPE/MgO-lignin (1:5 wt./wt.). In addition, as part of research studies, the measurements of the contact angle have been conducted. The analysed LDPE films, in particular LDPE/MgO-L, have been recognized as materials with high wettability.

Covalent Immobilization of Microbial Cells on Microchannel Surfaces

Microfluidic devices with integrated biological material have found many applications in analytics (e.g., protein and DNA analysis), biochemistry (e.g., PCR), and medical diagnostics (e.g., ELISA test). Recently they are also considered as promising tools for bioprocess development and intensification. In order to enable long-term biocatalyst use and to facilitate its separation from the product, immobilization within the microreactor is often preferred over the use of free enzymes or cells. Surface immobilization is frequently selected due to the very high surface-to-volume ratio of microfluidic devices that offers the possibility for high biocatalyst load and at the same time good biocatalyst accessibility. Moreover, such reactor design prevents the increase in backpressure, often encountered in packed-bed or monolithic microreactors.Microbial cells are beneficial over the isolated enzymes in many biotransformations, especially in multistep syntheses and in cofactor-dependent reactions. Their immobilization within microreactors, especially made from disposable polymers, is of a big interest for analytical and synthetic applications.This chapter describes procedure for immobilization of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells onto inner surfaces of microreactors made from various polymeric materials and glass. Cells could be immobilized in high densities and remain stably attached over several days of continuous microreactor operation.

A review of membrane development in membrane distillation for emulsified industrial or shale gas wastewater treatments with feed containing hybrid impurities

Investigations on membrane materials for membrane distillation (MD) and its applications have been ongoing since the 1990s. However, a lack of materials that produce robustly stable and up-to-the-mark membranes for MD for different industrial applications remains an ongoing problem. This paper provides an overview of materials developed for MD applications. Although key aspects of published articles reviewed in this paper pertain to MD membranes synthesized for desalination, future MD can also be applied to organic wastewater containing surfactants with inorganic compounds, either with the help of hybrid treatment processes or with customized membrane materials. Many industrial discharges produce effluents at a very high temperature, which is an available driving force for MD. However, there remains a lack of cost-effective membrane materials. Amphiphobic and omniphobic membranes have recently been developed for treating emulsified and shale gas produced water, but the problem of organic fouling and pore wetting remains a major challenge, especially when NaCl and other inorganic impurities are present, which further deteriorate separation performance. Therefore, further advancements in materials are required for the treatment of emulsified industrial wastewater containing surfactants, salts, and for oil or shale gas wastewater for its commercialized reuse. Integrated MD systems, however, may represent a major change in shale gas wastewater and emulsified wastewater that are difficult to treat.

Assessment of early onset surface damage from accelerated disinfection protocol

Background

The objective of this study was to evaluate the extent and potential mechanisms of early onset surface damage from simulated wiping typical of six-months of routine disinfection and to assess the subsequent microbial risk of surfaces damaged by disinfectants.

Methods

Eight common material surfaces were exposed to three disinfectants and a neutral cleaner (neutral cleaner, quaternary ammonium, hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite) in accelerated aging tests to simulate a long-term disinfection routine. Materials were also immersed in dilute and concentrated chemical solutions to induce surface damage. Surfaces were chemically and physically characterized to determine extent of surface damage. Bactericidal efficacy testing was performed on the Quat-based disinfectant using a modified version of EPA standard operating procedure MB-25-02.

Results

The wiping protocol increased surface roughness for some material surfaces due to mechanical abrasion of the wiping cloth. The increased roughness did not correlate with changes in bactericidal efficacy. Chemical damage was observed for some surface-disinfectant combinations. The greatest observed effects from disinfectant exposure was in changes in wettability or water contact angle.

Conclusions

Early onset surface damage was observed in chemical and physical characterization methods. These high-throughput material measurement methods were effective at assessing nanoscale disinfectant-surface compatibility which may go undetected though routine macroscale testing.

A luminescence nanosensor for Ornidazole detection using graphene quantum dots entrapped in silica molecular imprinted polymer

A luminescence nanosensor has been developed for analysis of Ornidazole in biological samples using graphene-quantum-dot-embedded silica molecular imprinted polymer (GQD-SMIP) as a selective probe for this analyte. The GQD-SMIP was found to possess a strong fluorescent emission at 450 nm upon excitation at 365 nm. This emission was found to linearly quench in the presence of Ornidazole in a concentration range of 0.75 to 30 μM. A detection limit of 0.24 μM was reached using the probe and the sensor was successfully used in the determination of the analyte in plasma samples.

Covalent Bonding of Thermoplastics to Rubbers for Printable, Reel-to-Reel Processing in Soft Robotics and Microfluidics

The lamination of mechanically stiff structures to elastic materials is prevalent in biological systems and popular in many emerging synthetic systems, such as soft robotics, microfluidics, stretchable electronics, and pop-up assemblies. The disparate mechanical and chemical properties of these materials have made it challenging to develop universal synthetic procedures capable of reliably adhering to these classes of materials together. Herein, a simple and scalable procedure is described that is capable of covalently laminating a variety of commodity ("off-the-shelf") thermoplastic sheets to silicone rubber films. When combined with laser printing, the nonbonding sites can be "printed" onto the thermoplastic sheets, enabling the direct fabrication of microfluidic systems for actuation and liquid handling applications. The versatility of this approach in generating thin, multifunctional laminates is demonstrated through the fabrication of milliscale soft actuators and grippers with hinged articulation and microfluidic channels with built-in optical filtering and pressure-dependent geometries. This method of fabrication offers several advantages, including technical simplicity, process scalability, design versatility, and material diversity. The concepts and strategies presented herein are broadly applicable to the soft robotics, microfluidics, and advanced and additive manufacturing communities where hybrid rubber/plastic structures are prevalent.

Amidation of Polyesters Is Slow in Nonaqueous Solvents: Efficient Amidation of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) with 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane in Water for Generating Multifunctional Surfaces

This paper describes surface functionalization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films by transamidation of the ester groups with primary amines. The use of water as a solvent improves tremendously the reaction rate and yield compared to conventionally used alcohols. In this study, PET films were exposed to an aqueous solution of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), which resulted in ester-to-amide reactions on the surface of the film. Hydrolysis of the resulting ethoxy moieties in APTES creates hydroxyl groups that can be used as anchoring points for further modification of PET films. This scheme offers an alternative approach to modify polyesters using water as the solvent.

Enhanced Wettability and Transport Control of Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis Membranes with Grafted Polyelectrolytes

End-functionalized poly(acrylic acid) (PAA-silane) was synthesized with reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization and attached to both polysulfone ultrafiltration (UF) and polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) membranes through a nonimpairing, one-step grafting to approach in order to improve membrane surface wettability with minimal impact on membrane transport performance. After PAA grafting, composition and morphology changes on the membrane surface were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Static contact angle on PAA grafted membranes exhibited an increase in surface hydrophilicity and hence a potential enhancement in antifouling performance. The native contact angle on the polysulfone membrane systems was 86° and was reduced to 24° after modification, while the polyamide film contact angle decreased from 58° to 25°. The PAA layer endowed the porous UF membrane with dynamic control over the permeability and selectivity through the manipulation of the solution pH. The UF membrane with a 35 nm average pore size displayed a 115% increase in flux when the contact solution was changed from pH 11 to pH 3. This effect was diminished to 70% and 32% as the average pore size decreased to 20 and 10 nm, respectively. Modified RO membranes displayed no reduction in membrane performance indicating that the underlying materials were unaffected by the modification environment or added polymer. Model polyamide and polysulfone surfaces were reacted with the PAA-silane inside a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to help inform the deposition behavior for the respective membrane chemistries.

Surface Modification of PMMA to Improve Adhesion to Corneal Substitutes in a Synthetic Core-Skirt Keratoprosthesis

Patients with advanced corneal disease do poorly with conventional corneal transplantation and require a keratoprosthesis (KPro) for visual rehabilitation. The most widely used KPro is constructed using poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in the central optical core and a donor cornea as skirt material. In many cases, poor adherence between the PMMA and the soft corneal tissue is responsible for device "extrusion" and bacterial infiltration. The interfacial adhesion between the tissue and the PMMA was therefore critical to successful implantation and device longevity. In our approach, we modified the PMMA surface using oxygen plasma (plasma group); plasma followed by calcium phosphate (CaP) coating (p-CaP); dopamine followed by CaP coating (d-CaP); or plasma followed by coating with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (3-APTES). To create a synthetic KPro model, we constructed and attached 500 μm thick collagen type I hydrogel on the modified PMMA surfaces. Surface modifications produced significantly improved interfacial adhesion strength compared to untreated PMMA (p < 0.001). The p-CaP group yielded the best interfacial adhesion with the hydrogel (177 ± 27 mN/cm(2)) followed by d-CaP (168 ± 31 mN/cm(2)), 3-APTES (145 ± 12 mN/cm(2)), and plasma (119 ± 10 mN/cm(2)). Longer-term stability of the adhesion was achieved by d-CaP, which, after 14 and 28 days of incubation in phosphate buffered saline, yielded 164 ± 25 mN/cm(2) (p = 0.906 compared to adhesion at day 1) and 131 ± 20 mN/cm(2) (p = 0.053), respectively. In contrast, significant reduction of adhesion strength was observed in p-CaP group over time (p < 0.001). All surface coatings were biocompatible to human corneal stromal fibroblasts, except for the 3-APTES group, which showed no live cells at 72 h of culture. In contrast, cells on d-CaP surface showed good anchorage, evidenced by the expression of focal adhesion complex (paxillin and vinculin), and prominent filopodia protrusions. In conclusion, d-CaP can not only enhance and provide stability to the adhesion of collagen hydrogel on the PMMA surface but also promote biointegration.

Surface modification of silicone tubes by functional carboxyl and amine, but not peroxide groups followed by collagen immobilization improves endothelial cell stability and functionality

Surface modification by functional groups promotes endothelialization in biohybrid artificial lungs, but whether it affects endothelial cell stability under fluid shear stress, and the release of anti-thrombotic factors, e.g. nitric oxide (NO), is unknown. We aimed to test whether surface-modified silicone tubes containing different functional groups, but similar wettability, improve collagen immobilization, endothelialization, cell stability and cell-mediated NO-release. Peroxide, carboxyl, and amine-groups increased collagen immobilization (41-76%). Only amine-groups increased ultimate tensile strength (2-fold). Peroxide and amine enhanced (1.5-2.5 fold), but carboxyl-groups decreased (2.9-fold) endothelial cell number after 6 d. After collagen immobilization, cell numbers were enhanced by all group-modifications (2.8-3.8 fold). Cells were stable under 1 h-fluid shear stress on amine, but not carboxyl or peroxide-group-modified silicone (>50% cell detachment), while cells were also stable on carboxyl-group-modified silicone with immobilized collagen. NO-release was increased by peroxide and amine (1.1-1.7 fold), but decreased by carboxyl-group-modification (9.8-fold), while it increased by all group-modifications after collagen immobilization (1.8-2.8 fold). Only the amine-group-modification changed silicone stiffness and transparency. In conclusion, silicone-surface modification of blood-contacting parts of artificial lungs with carboxyl and amine, but not peroxide-groups followed by collagen immobilization allows the formation of a stable functional endothelial cell layer. Amine-group-modification seems undesirable since it affected silicone's physical properties.

One-step antibody immobilization-based rapid and highly-sensitive sandwich ELISA procedure for potential in vitro diagnostics

An improved enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay using one-step antibody immobilization has been developed for the detection of human fetuin A (HFA), a specific biomarker for atherosclerosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The anti-HFA formed a stable complex with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) by ionic and hydrophobic interactions. The complex adsorbed on microtiter plates exhibited a detection range of 4.9 pg mL(-1) to 20 ng mL(-1) HFA, with a limit of detection of 7 pg mL(-1). Furthermore, an analytical sensitivity of 10 pg mL(-1) was achieved, representing a 51-fold increase in sensitivity over the commercial sandwich ELISA kit. The results obtained for HFA spiked in diluted human whole blood and plasma showed the same precision as the commercial kit. When stored at 4°C in 0.1 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4), the anti-HFA bound microtiter plates displayed no significant decrease in their functional activity after two months. The new ELISA procedure was extended for the detection of C-reactive protein, human albumin and human lipocalin-2 with excellent analytical performance.

Controllable synthesis and catalysis application of hierarchical PS/Au core-shell nanocomposites

Polystyrene (PS)/gold (Au) core-shell nanocomposites with tunable size, high stability, and excellent catalytic activity have been synthesized by a facile method that combines the ionic self-assembly with the in situ reduction. The composition and stoichiometry, as well as its morphology and optical properties of these nanocomposites have been examined and verified by various characterization techniques. The size and the coverage of gold nanoparticles (NPs) can be simply tailored by changing the amount of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTES), the functionalization time, the protonation time, and the amount of chloroauric acid (HAuCl(4)). The continuous red shifts of the localized surface plasmon resonance absorption of the Au NPs on the PS spheres are observed. Importantly, the obtained Au NPs with controllable and uniform size on the surfaces of amino-functionalized PS spheres exhibit excellent size-dependent catalytic properties for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by NaBH(4).

Biofunctionalization of 3D nylon 6,6 scaffolds using a two-step surface modification

Nylon is a relatively inert polymer. The ability to easily functionalize nylon with biomolecules will improve the utilization of nylon in biological systems. A potential use of the biofunctionalized nylon scaffolds is in devices for cell therapeutics that can specifically select cells present in small numbers, such as hematopoietic stem cells. This study developed a versatile and simple two-step technique combining oxygen plasma treatment with wet silanization to graft biomolecules onto nylon 6,6 3D porous scaffolds. Scaffolds that were exposed to oxygen plasma exhibited up to 13-fold increase in silane attachment ((3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane/(3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane) compared to untreated scaffolds. To address the limitation of nondestructive characterization of the surface chemistry of 3D scaffolds, fluorescent CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles were used as a reporting tool for -NH2 functionalized surfaces. Scaffolds that were covalently bound with neutravidin protein remained stable in phosphate buffered saline up to four months. Functionality of the neutravidin-grafted scaffolds was demonstrated by the specific binding of CD4 cells to the scaffold via CD4-specific antibody. Ultimately, these neutravidin-functionalized 3D nylon scaffolds could be easily customized on demand utilizing a plethora of biotinylated biomolecules (antibodies, enzymes and proteins) to select for specific cell of interest. This technique can be extended to other applications, including the enhancement of cell-scaffold interactions.

Amino-modified silica surfaces efficiently immobilize bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) for medical purposes

Due to its ability to induce de novo bone formation the differentiation factor bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) is often used to enhance the integration of bone implants. With the aim of reducing possible high dose side-effects and to lower the costs, in order to produce affordable implants, we developed a simple and fast method for the immobilization of BMP2 on silica-based surfaces using silane linkers which carry amino or epoxy functions. We put an especial emphasis on the influence of the nanoscale surface topography of the silica layer. Therefore, we chose glass (for control experiments) and Bioverit® II (as a typical implant base material) as support materials and coated these substrates with unstructured or nanoporous amorphous silica layers for comparison. Immobilized BMP2 was quantified by two different methods: by ELISA and by a cell-based assay for active BMP2. These tests probe for immunologically and biologically active BMP2, respectively. The results show that the amino functionalization is better suited for immobilizing the protein. Strikingly, a considerably higher amount of BMP2 could be immobilized on coated Bioverit® II surfaces compared with coated glass substrates, which was presumably due to the macroscopic roughness of the Bioverit® II substrates. In addition, it was found that the nanoporous silica coatings on Bioverit® II substrates were able to bind more BMP2 than the unstructured ones.

Reactive surface coatings based on polysilsesquioxanes: defined adjustment of surface wettability

We have investigated a generally applicable protocol for a substrate-independent reactive polymer coating that offers interesting possibilities for further molecular tailoring via simple wet chemical derivatization reactions. Poly(methylsilsesquioxane)-poly(pentafluorophenyl acrylate) hybrid polymers have been synthesized by RAFT polymerization, and stable reactive surface coatings have been prepared by spin-coating on the following substrates: Si, glass, gold, PMMA, PDMS, and steel. These coatings have been used for a defined adjustment of surface wettability by surface-analogous reaction with various amines (e.g., glutamic acid to obtain hydrophilic surfaces (Theta(a) = 18 degrees) or perfluorinated amines to obtain hydrophobic surfaces (Theta(a) = 138 degrees)). Besides the successful covalent attachment of small molecules and polymers, amino-functionalized nanoparticles could also be deposited on the surface, resulting in nanostructured coatings, thereby expanding the accessible contact angle of hydrophobic surfaces further to Theta(a) = 152 degrees. The surface-analogous conversion of the reactive coating with isopropyl amine produced in situ temperature-responsive coatings. Using the presented simple, generally applicable protocol for substrate-independent reactive polymer coatings, the contact angle of water could be switched reversibly by almost 60 degrees.

Multifunctional silane polymers for persistent surface derivatization and their antimicrobial properties

We demonstrate a versatile methodology combining both covalent surface anchoring and polymer cross-linking that is capable of forming long-lasting coatings on reactive and nonreactive surfaces. Polymers containing reactive methoxysilane groups form strong Si-O-Si links to oxide surfaces, thereby anchoring the polymer chains at multiple points. The interchain cross-linking of the methoxysilane groups provides additional durability to the coating and makes the coatings highly resistant to solvents. By tailoring the chemical structure of the polymer, we were able to control the surface energy (wetting) of a variety of surfaces over a wide range of water contact angles of 30-140 degrees . In addition, we synthesized covalently linked layer-by-layer polymeric assemblies from these novel methoxysilane polymers. Finally, antibacterial agents, such as silver bromide nanoparticles and triiodide ions, were introduced into these functional polymers to generate long-lasting and renewable antiseptic coatings on glass, metals, and textiles.

Morphology and amine accessibility of (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane films on glass surfaces

3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) is commonly used to functionalize glass substrates because it can form an amine-reactive film that is tightly attached to the surface. In this study, we investigated the morphology and chemical reactivity of APTES films prepared on glass substrates using common deposition techniques. Films were prepared using concentrated vapor-phase deposition, dilute vapor-phase deposition, anhydrous organic-phase deposition and aqueous-phase deposition. All films were annealed, or cured, at 150 degrees C. The morphology of the films was quantified by fluorescence and by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The optical equivalent of the AFM images was computed and then used to directly compare optical and AFM images. Reactive amine density was determined by a picric acid assay and by a method that employed N-succinimidyl 3-[2-pyridyldithio]-propionamido (SPDP) cross-linked rhodamine. Fluorescence and AFM images showed that silane films prepared from dilute vapor-phase and aqueous-phase deposition were more uniform and had fewer domains than those deposited by the other methods. The ratio of picric acid-accessible amino groups to SPDP cross-linked rhodamine-accessible groups varied with the preparation method, suggesting reactant size-dependent difference in amine accessibility. We found a larger number of accessible amino groups on films prepared by vapor-phase deposition than on those prepared from solution deposition. The dilute vapor-phase deposition technique produced relatively few domains, and it should be a good choice for bioconjugation applications. There were appreciable differences in the films produced by each method. We suggest that these differences originate from differences in film rearrangement during annealing.