Thermosensitive Poly(n-Isopropylacrylamide)-B-Polycaprolactone-B-Poly(n-Isopropylacrylamide) Triblock Copolymers Prepared via Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization for Control of Cell Adhesion and Detachment

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive polymer materials have potential uses in drug delivery, tissue engineering, bioreactors, and cell-surface adhesion control. Temperatureresponsive surfaces of triblock copolymers of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-b-polycaprolactone-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (P(NIPAAm)-b-PCL-b-P(NIPAAm)) were fabricated via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). At 37 °C [above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of NIPAAm of 32 °C], the seeded cells adhered on the surface of the triblock copolymer, while below the LCST the cells detached from the surface spontaneously. P(NIPAAm) acted as the thermoresponsive segments of the triblock copolymer for control of cell adhesion and detachment. The thermosensitive copolymers are potentially useful as stimuli-responsive adhesion modifiers for cells in biomedical fields.

Thermoresponsive Polymers for Biomedical Applications

“…Membranes of triblock copolymers of PNIPAAm-b-PVCL-b-PNIPAAm produced by Li et al also displayed cell attachment and detachment in response to temperatures above and below the LCST, respectively [131].…”

A thermoresponsive CA-PNIPAM-based electrospun nanofibrous membrane for oil/water separation

“…Thus far, several exciting materials have been discovered to synthesize the membrane, such as cellulose acetate, for flexible and tunable reactive surfaces for achieving controllability and switchability of surface hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity for oil/ water separation application. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Usually, properties of the polymer, such as hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity, can be modified by changing the polymeric composition and subsequent changes in the morphology of the designed polymeric composite. Moreover, modifications in surface roughness of the polymeric composite tune the hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity within a designed polymeric composite.…”

Pre‐clinical and clinical applications of thermoreversible hydrogels in biomedical engineering: a review

“…8 The progress in polymer chemistry facilitated the synthesis of thermoresponsive polymers and thus a great deal of relevant research has been published. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] These studies aim to produce thermoresponsive polymers and investigate their LCST transition and thermogelation, with the main goal to design systems that show clear sol-gel transition between r.t. and b.t. Natural polymers possessing thermoresponsive properties have also been investigated as TRGs.…”