Incorporation of collagen in poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) for a bifunctional film with high bio‐ and electrochemical activity

Abstract

Electrochemical polymerization can be used to directly synthesize conducting polymers while incorporating different functional molecules such as proteins for specific applications. There is a need to systematically study the effects of synthetic conditions for a polymer/protein composite on its nanostructure, chem/physical properties, and bioactivities. In this study, collagen, a cell-adhesion protein, was impregnated in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) via galvanostatic electropolymerization, and demonstrated binding with the PEDOT backbone and excellent stability. The polymer polymerized at lower current densities shows good electroactivity. Oxidation level of PEDOT was investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The results show that simple inorganic anions are more readily to be doped into the polymer than the bulky collagen molecules. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation reveals that the PEDOT/collagen system has a surface morphology different from those previously studied, exhibiting a network structure with nano-silks interlacing. Optical microscopy examination shows that rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells are preferentially seeded on PEDOT/collagen other than PEDOT/LiClO(4), indicating that collagen is highly bioactive for cell adhesion. Further study shows that synthesis with a lower current density favors the incorporation of collagen and thus increases the cell attachment to the PEDOT/collagen matrix. This study renders a simple approach to tailor a bifunctional film with high bio- and electrochemical activity.

Virus-Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Biocomposite Films

“…15 PEDOT is an attractive polymer for the preparation of such biocomposites due to its excellent electrical stability, 3 high electrical conductivity, 16 and biocompatibility. 17–19 Recent work has demonstrated that PEDOT is capable of incorporating large biomolecules including fibrinogen (MW = 330 kDa) 16 and collagen (MW = 300 kDa) 20 (Table 1). …”

A Conducting Polymer/Protein Composite with Bactericidal and Electroactive Properties

“…Although the interaction between common CPs (i.e., polyaniline and, specially, polypyrrole derivatives) and bioentities, such as amino acids, proteins, DNA and living cells, has been extensively studied,8–16 it has been only quite recently that polythiophene derivatives have been explored as materials with promising biotechnological and/or biomedical applications 17–33. Within these exciting fields, PEDOT has been used to: recognize specific nucleotide sequences12–24; interact with epithelial, fibroblasts and neuronal cells favoring their adhesion and proliferation25–30; prepare bifunctional films with high bio‐ and electrochemical activities through the incorporation of collagen, which is one of the known constituents of the extracellular matrix of neurons31; construct functionalized devices for protein detection32, 33; etc.…”

Polymerization of PEDOT/PSS/Chitosan-Coated Electrodes for Electrochemical Bio-Sensing

“…Numerous previous studies have revealed that conductive PEDOT can be polymerized by electrochemical polymerization of EDOT monomer and during this polymerization process, a variety of dopants can be incorporated into the PEDOT polymers [28,29]. In the present study, EDOT monomer, PSS, and chitosan were placed into the electrolyte solution and subjected to electrochemical polymerization.…”