Postfabrication Tethering of Molecular Gradients on Aligned Nanofibers of Functional Poly(ε-caprolactone)s.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Substrates with combinations of topographical and biochemical cues are highly useful for a number of fundamental biological investigations. Tethered molecular concentration gradients in particular are highly desired for a number of biomedical applications including cell migration. Herein, we report a versatile method for the fabrication of aligned nanofiber substrates with a tunable concentration gradient along the fiber direction. 4-Dibenzocyclooctynol (DIBO) was used as an initiator for the ring-opening copolymerization of ε-caprolactone (εCL) and allyl-functionalized ε-caprolactone (AεPCL), which yielded a well-defined polymer with orthogonal functional handles. These materials were fabricated into aligned nanofiber substrates via touch-spinning. Fibers were modified post-spinning with a concentration gradient of fluorescently labeled dye via a light activated thiol-ene reaction through a photomask. As a demonstration, the cell adhesive peptide RGD was chemically tethered to the fiber surface at a second functionalization site via strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC). This novel approach affords fabrication of dual functional nanofiber substrates.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Silantyeva, EA; Willits, RK; Becker, ML
Published Date
- December 2019
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 20 / 12
Start / End Page
- 4494 - 4501
PubMed ID
- 31721566
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC7546418
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1526-4602
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1525-7797
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1021/acs.biomac.9b01264
Language
- eng