Anionic Polymer Brushes for Biomimetic Calcium Phosphate Mineralization-A Surface with Application Potential in Biomaterials.

Tobias Mai,Karol Wolski,Michael Bruns,Szczepan Zapotoczny,Ralph Gräf,Agnieszka Puciul-Malinowska,Alexey Kopyshev,Andreas Taubert

doi:10.3390/polym10101165

Abstract

This article describes the synthesis of anionic polymer brushes and their mineralization with calcium phosphate. The brushes are based on poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt) providing a highly charged polymer brush surface. Homogeneous brushes with reproducible thicknesses are obtained via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. Mineralization with doubly concentrated simulated body fluid yields polymer/inorganic hybrid films containing AB-Type carbonated hydroxyapatite (CHAP), a material resembling the inorganic component of bone. Moreover, growth experiments using Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae demonstrate that the mineral-free and the mineral-containing polymer brushes have a good biocompatibility suggesting their use as biocompatible surfaces in implantology or related fields.

Highlights

The expected lifetime at birth has dramatically increased over the last 150 years
The current study demonstrates that strong polyelectrolyte brushes may be even more attractive for the generation of hybrid thin layers than the brushes studied so far because they are highly charged from ca. pH 2 up; this makes them very interesting for the generation of surfaces that remain charged under physiological conditions, for example on an implant surface
We have studied the ability of the polymer brushes to induce and calcium phosphate

Summary

Introduction

Life expectancy in Germany has more than doubled—from 37 years in 1871 to about 80 years in 2010 [1]. Among others, this is due to improved nutrition supplies and society-induced changes to physical activity patterns. As a consequence of this lifetime extension, diseases that were virtually unknown 200 years ago have become major factors in today’s health industries. These diseases include osteoporosis, chondrocalcinosis, kidney stones, atherosclerosis, and caries and calculus. Often, (biological) mineral formation and dissolution occur at an interface

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