Electrically-driven modulation of surface-grafted RGD peptides for manipulation of cell adhesion

Dynamic photoelectrical regulation of ECM protein and cellular behaviors

Dynamic regulation of cell-extracellular matrix (ECM)-material interactions is crucial for various biomedical applications. In this study, a light-activated molecular switch for the modulation of cell attachment/detachment behaviors was established on monolayer graphene (Gr)/n-type Silicon substrates (Gr/Si). Initiated by light illumination at the Gr/Si interface, pre-adsorbed proteins (bovine serum albumin, ECM proteins collagen-1, and fibronectin) underwent protonation to achieve negative charge transfer to Gr films (n-doping) through π-π interactions. This n-doping process stimulated the conformational switches of ECM proteins. The structural alterations in these ECM interactors significantly reduced the specificity of the cell surface receptor-ligand interaction (e.g., integrin recognition), leading to dynamic regulation of cell adhesion and eventual cell detachment. RNA-sequencing results revealed that the detached bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cell sheets from the Gr/Si system manifested regulated immunoregulatory properties and enhanced osteogenic differentiation, implying their potential application in bone tissue regeneration. This work not only provides a fast and feasible method for controllable cells/cell sheets harvesting but also gives new insights into the understanding of cell-ECM-material communications.

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A light-activated molecular switch for regulation of cell attachment/detachment behaviors was established on (Gr/Si) substrates.

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Light-induced charge transfer from ECM protein to Gr/Si through π-π interactions, resulting in the conformational alteration of ECM proteins.

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Structural changes in ECM weakened the binding between RGD and integrin, inducing cell detachment.

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This work provides a feasible method for cell harvesting and improves the understanding of cell-ECM-material communications.

Electroactive Biomaterials for Facilitating Bone Defect Repair under Pathological Conditions

Bone degeneration associated with various diseases is increasing due to rapid aging, sedentary lifestyles, and unhealthy diets. Living bone tissue has bioelectric properties critical to bone remodeling, and bone degeneration under various pathological conditions results in significant changes to these bioelectric properties. There is growing interest in utilizing biomimetic electroactive biomaterials that recapitulate the natural electrophysiological microenvironment of healthy bone tissue to promote bone repair. This review first summarizes the etiology of degenerative bone conditions associated with various diseases such as type II diabetes, osteoporosis, periodontitis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteomyelitis, and metastatic osteolysis. Next, the diverse array of natural and synthetic electroactive biomaterials with therapeutic potential are discussed. Putative mechanistic pathways by which electroactive biomaterials can mitigate bone degeneration are critically examined, including the enhancement of osteogenesis and angiogenesis, suppression of inflammation and osteoclastogenesis, as well as their anti-bacterial effects. Finally, the limited research on utilization of electroactive biomaterials in the treatment of bone degeneration associated with the aforementioned diseases are examined. Previous studies have mostly focused on using electroactive biomaterials to treat bone traumatic injuries. It is hoped that this review will encourage more research efforts on the use of electroactive biomaterials for treating degenerative bone conditions.

Reversible Self-Assembled Monolayers with Tunable Surface Dynamics for Controlling Cell Adhesion Behavior

Cells adhering onto surfaces sense and respond to chemical and physical surface features. The control over cell adhesion behavior influences cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation, which are important considerations in biomaterial design for cell culture, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. Here, we report on a supramolecular-based approach to prepare reversible self-assembled monolayers (rSAMs) with tunable lateral mobility and dynamic control over surface composition to regulate cell adhesion behavior. These layers were prepared by incubating oxoacid-terminated thiol SAMs on gold in a pH 8 HEPES buffer solution containing different mole fractions of ω-(ethylene glycol)2-4- and ω-(GRGDS)-, α-benzamidino bolaamphiphiles. Cell shape and morphology were influenced by the strength of the interactions between the amidine-functionalized amphiphiles and the oxoacid of the underlying SAMs. Dynamic control over surface composition, achieved by the addition of inert filler amphiphiles to the RGD-functionalized rSAMs, reversed the cell adhesion process. In summary, rSAMs featuring mobile bioactive ligands offer unique capabilities to influence and control cell adhesion behavior, suggesting a broad use in biomaterial design, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.

Restoration of critical defects in the rabbit mandible using osteoblasts and vascular endothelial cells co-cultured with vascular stent-loaded nano-composite scaffolds

The success of large bone defect repair with tissue engineering technology depends mainly on angiogenesis and osteogenesis. In this study, we prepared poly-caprolactone/nano-hydroxyapatite/beta-calcium phosphate (PCL/nHA/β-TCP) composite scaffolds loaded with poly-(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/nano-hydroxyapatite/collagen/heparin sodium (PLGA/nHA/Col/HS) nanofiber small vascular stent by electrospinning and hot press forming-particle leaching methods. Supramolecular electrostatic self-assembly technology was used to modify the surfaces of small vascular stents to aid in hydrophilicity and anticoagulation. The surfaces of composite scaffolds were modified with an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) short peptide by physical adsorption to supply cell adhesion sites. The scaffolds were then combined with rabbit bone marrow-derived osteoblasts (OBs) and rabbit bone marrow-derived vascular endothelial cells (RVECs) to construct large, biologically active vascularized tissue-engineered bone in vitro; this bone was then used to repair critical bone defects in rabbit mandibles. Mechanical and biocompatibility testing results showed that PCL/nHA/β-TCP composite scaffolds loaded with small vascular stents had good surface structure, mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and bone-regeneration induction potential. Twelve weeks after implantation, histological analysis and X-ray scans showed that the use of osteoblasts and vascular endothelial cells co-cultured with PCL/nHA/β-TCP scaffolds was sufficient to repair critical defects in rabbit mandibles.

Electroactive Biomaterials and Systems for Cell Fate Determination and Tissue Regeneration: Design and Applications

During natural tissue regeneration, tissue microenvironment and stem cell niche including cell-cell interaction, soluble factors, and extracellular matrix (ECM) provide a train of biochemical and biophysical cues for modulation of cell behaviors and tissue functions. Design of functional biomaterials to mimic the tissue/cell microenvironment have great potentials for tissue regeneration applications. Recently, electroactive biomaterials have drawn increasing attentions not only as scaffolds for cell adhesion and structural support, but also as modulators to regulate cell/tissue behaviors and function, especially for electrically excitable cells and tissues. More importantly, electrostimulation can further modulate a myriad of biological processes, from cell cycle, migration, proliferation and differentiation to neural conduction, muscle contraction, embryogenesis, and tissue regeneration. In this review, endogenous bioelectricity and piezoelectricity are introduced. Then, design rationale of electroactive biomaterials is discussed for imitating dynamic cell microenvironment, as well as their mediated electrostimulation and the applying pathways. Recent advances in electroactive biomaterials are systematically overviewed for modulation of stem cell fate and tissue regeneration, mainly including nerve regeneration, bone tissue engineering, and cardiac tissue engineering. Finally, the significance for simulating the native tissue microenvironment is emphasized and the open challenges and future perspectives of electroactive biomaterials are concluded.

On-Demand Electrical Switching of Antibody-Antigen Binding on Surfaces

The development of stimuli-responsive interfaces between synthetic materials and biological systems is providing the unprecedented ability to modulate biomolecular interactions for a diverse range of biotechnological and biomedical applications. Antibody-antigen binding interactions are at the heart of many biosensing platforms, but no attempts have been made yet to control antibody-antigen binding in an on-demand fashion. Herein, a molecular surface was designed and developed that utilizes an electric potential to drive a conformational change in surface bound peptide moiety, to give on-demand control over antigen-antibody interactions on sensor chips. The molecularly engineered surfaces allow for propagation of conformational changes from the molecular switching unit to a distal progesterone antigen, resulting in promotion (ON state) or inhibition (OFF state) of progesterone antibody binding. The approach presented here can be generally applicable to other antigen-antibody systems and meets the technological needs for in situ long-term assessment of biological processes and disease monitoring on-demand.

Ionic Strength, Surface Charge, and Packing Density Effects on the Properties of Peptide Self-Assembled Monolayers

The various environmental parameters of packing density, ionic strength, and solution charge were examined for their effects on the properties of the immobilized peptide mimotope CH19 (CGSGSGSQLGPYELWELSH) that binds with the therapeutic antibody Trastuzumab (Herceptin) on a gold substrate. The immobilization of CH19 onto gold was examined with a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The QCM data showed the presence of intermolecular interactions resulting in the increase of viscoelastic properties of the peptide self-assembled monolayer (SAM). The CH19 SAM was diluted with CS7 (CGSGSGS) to decrease the packing density as CH19/CS7. The packing density and ionic strength parameters were evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), ellipsometry, and QCM. AFM and ellipsometry showed a distinct conformational difference between CH19 and CH19/CS7, indicating a relationship between packing density and conformational state of the immobilized peptide. The CH19 SAM thickness was 40 Å with a rough topology, while the CH19/CS7 SAM thickness was 20 Å with a smooth topology. The affinity studies showed that the affinity of CH19 and CH19/CS7 to Trastuzumab were both on the order of 10⁷ M^-1 in undiluted PBS buffer, while the dilution of the buffer by 1000× increased both SAMs affinities to Trastuzumab to the order of 10¹⁵ M^-2 and changed the binding behavior from noncooperative to cooperative binding. This indicated that ionic strength had a more pronounced effect on binding properties of the CH19 SAM than packing density. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was conducted on the CH19/CS7 SAM, which showed an increase in impedance after each EIS measurement cycle. Cyclic voltammetry on the CH19/CS7 SAM decreased impedance to near initial values. The impact of the packing density, buffer ionic strength, and local charge perturbation of the peptide SAM properties was interpreted based on the titratable sites in CH19 that could participate in the proton transfer and water equilibrium.

Electrically Responsive Surfaces: Experimental and Theoretical Investigations

Stimuli-responsive surfaces have sparked considerable interest in recent years, especially in view of their biomimetic nature and widespread biomedical applications. Significant efforts are continuously being directed at developing functional surfaces exhibiting specific property changes triggered by variations in electrical potential, temperature, pH and concentration, irradiation with light, or exposure to a magnetic field. In this respect, electrical stimulus offers several attractive features, including a high level of spatial and temporal controllability, rapid and reverse inducement, and noninvasiveness. In this Account, we discuss how surfaces can be designed and methodologies developed to produce electrically switchable systems, based on research by our groups. We aim to provide fundamental mechanistic and structural features of these dynamic systems, while highlighting their capabilities and potential applications. We begin by briefly describing the current state-of-the-art in integrating electroactive species on surfaces to control the immobilization of diverse biological entities. This premise leads us to portray our electrically switchable surfaces, capable of controlling nonspecific and specific biological interactions by exploiting molecular motions of surface-bound electroswitchable molecules. We demonstrate that our self-assembled monolayer-based electrically switchable surfaces can modulate the interactions of surfaces with proteins, mammalian and bacterial cells. We emphasize how these systems are ubiquitous in both switching biomolecular interactions in highly complex biological conditions while still offering antifouling properties. We also introduce how novel characterization techniques, such as surface sensitive vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, can be used for probing the electrically switchable molecular surfaces in situ. SFG spectroscopy is a technique that not only allowed determining the structural orientation of the surface-tethered molecules under electroinduced switching, but also provided an in-depth characterization of the system reversibility. Furthermore, the unique support from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations is highlighted. MD simulations with polarizable force fields (FFs), which could give proper description of the charge polarization caused by electrical stimulus, have helped not only back many of the experimental observations, but also to rationalize the mechanism of switching behavior. More importantly, this polarizable FF-based approach can efficiently be extended to light or pH stimulated surfaces when integrated with reactive FF methods. The interplay between experimental and theoretical studies has led to a higher level of understanding of the switchable surfaces, and to a more precise interpretation and rationalization of the observed data. The perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for future progress on stimuli-responsive surfaces are also presented.

Analysis of enzyme-responsive peptide surfaces by Raman spectroscopy

We report on the use of Raman spectroscopy as a tool to characterise model peptide functionalised surfaces. By taking advantage of Raman reporters built into the peptide sequence, the enzymatic hydrolysis of these peptides could be determined.

Engineering Dynamic Biointerfaces

Recent advances in dynamic biointerfaces enable spatiotemporal control over cell position and migration after attachment using substrates that employ chemical, optical, thermal, or electrical triggers. This review focuses on flexible and accessible methods for the fabrication of cellular arrays or co cultures for fundamental studies of cell biology or regenerative medicine.