Abstract
Inspired by adhesive mussel proteins, nanospherical self-assemblies were prepared from bolaamphiphiles containing 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) moieties, and a suspension of the bolaamphiphile assemblies was used for the preparation of a patterned surface that enhanced cell adhesion and viability. The abundant surface-exposed catechol groups on the robust bolaamphiphile self-assemblies were responsible for their outstanding adhesivity to various surfaces and showed purely elastic mechanical behaviour in response to tensile stress. Compared to other polydopamine coatings, the spherical DOPA-bolaamphiphile assemblies were coated uniformly and densely on the surface, yielding a nano-embossed surface. Cell culture tests on the surface modified by DOPA-bolaamphiphiles also showed enhanced cellular adhesivity and increased viability compared to surfaces decorated with other catecholic compounds. Furthermore, the guided growth of a cell line was demonstrated on the patterned surface, which was prepared by inkjet printing using a suspension of the self-assembled particles as an ink. The self-assembly of DOPA-bolaamphiphiles shows that they are a promising adhesive, biocompatible material with the potential to modify various substances.
Highlights
The amino acid abundant in the mussel foot protein, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), shows outstanding adhesivity to various surfaces due to the catechol groups that can form hydrogen bonds or coordinate to metal compounds[25,26,27]
We examined pattern printing on a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrate with a commercialized inkjet printer using the DOPA-C7 assembly suspension as an ink for guided cell growth on the pattern (Fig. 1)
When DOPA-C7 molecules are dissolved in aqueous solutions, they spontaneously self-assemble, creating nanospherical structures with exposed DOPA catechol moieties on the surface
Summary
Inspired by adhesive mussel proteins, nanospherical self-assemblies were prepared from bolaamphiphiles containing 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) moieties, and a suspension of the bolaamphiphile assemblies was used for the preparation of a patterned surface that enhanced cell adhesion and viability. Cell culture tests on the surface modified by DOPA-bolaamphiphiles showed enhanced cellular adhesivity and increased viability compared to surfaces decorated with other catecholic compounds. To exploit the biochemical properties of DOPA, we recently produced a DOPA-containing bolaamphiphilic molecule (DOPA-C7 hereafter) and demonstrated that its self-assembly was robust and stable even under vacuum and in dry conditions, where the adhesivity from the surface-exposed catechols was retained. Due to these physical and chemical properties, the DOPA-C7 assemblies could be applied as nanoscale spherical sticky templates for the preparation of magnetic nanoparticles[28]. We examined pattern printing on a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrate with a commercialized inkjet printer using the DOPA-C7 assembly suspension as an ink for guided cell growth on the pattern (Fig. 1)
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