Biomimetic poly(amidoamine) hydrogels as synthetic materials for cell culture

doi:10.1186/1477-3155-6-14

Journal of Nanobiotechnology

Volume 6

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Jacchetti E
Emilitri E
Rodighiero S
Indrieri M
Gianfelice A
Lenardi C
Podestà A
Ranucci E
Ferruti P
Milani P

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Jacchetti E
Emilitri E
Rodighiero S
Indrieri M
Gianfelice A
Lenardi C
Podestà A
Ranucci E
Ferruti P
Milani P
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Research

Biomimetic poly(amidoamine) hydrogels as synthetic materials for cell culture

Emanuela Jacchetti¹^,4 , Elisa Emilitri²^,4 , Simona Rodighiero⁴ , Marco Indrieri¹^,4 , Antonella Gianfelice⁴ , Cristina Lenardi³^,4 , Alessandro Podestà¹^,4 , Elisabetta Ranucci²^,4 , Paolo Ferruti²^,4 and Paolo Milani¹^,4

¹Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Milano, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy

²Dipartimento di Chimica Organica e Industriale, Università di Milano, via Venezian 21, 20133 Milano, Italy

³Istituto di Fisiologia Generale e Chimica Biologica, Università di Milano, via Trentacoste 2, 20134 Milano, Italy

⁴CIMaINa, Centro Interdisciplinare Materiali e Interfacce Nanostrutturati, Università di Milano, Italy

author email corresponding author email

Journal of Nanobiotechnology 2008, 6:14doi:10.1186/1477-3155-6-14


Published:	17 November 2008

Abstract

Background

Poly(amidoamine)s (PAAs) are synthetic polymers endowed with many biologically interesting properties, being highly biocompatible, non toxic and biodegradable. Hydrogels based on PAAs can be easily modified during the synthesis by the introduction of functional co-monomers. Aim of this work is the development and testing of novel amphoteric nanosized poly(amidoamine) hydrogel film incorporating 4-aminobutylguanidine (agmatine) moieties to create RGD-mimicking repeating units for promoting cell adhesion.

Results

A systematic comparative study of the response of an epithelial cell line was performed on hydrogels with agmatine and on non-functionalized amphoteric poly(amidoamine) hydrogels and tissue culture plastic substrates. The cell adhesion on the agmatine containing substrates was comparable to that on plastic substrates and significantly enhanced with respect to the non-functionalized controls. Interestingly, spreading and proliferation on the functionalized supports are slower than on plastic exhibiting the possibility of an easier control of the cell growth kinetics. In order to favor the handling of the samples, a procedure for the production of bi-layered constructs was also developed by means the deposition via spin coating of a thin layer of hydrogel on a pre-treated cover slip.

Conclusion

The obtained results reveal that PAAs hydrogels can be profitably functionalized and, in general, undergo physical and chemical modifications to meet specific requirements. In particular the incorporation of agmatine warrants good potential in the field of cell culturing and the development of supported functionalized hydrogels on cover glass are very promising substrates for applications in cell screening devices.