| Abstract
| - Surface chemistries that prevent protein adsorption and render surfaces nonadhesive have emerged aspromising biomaterial modifications for minimizing host-implant inflammatory responses and providinga nonspecific background for the presentation of bioactive motifs to elicit directed cellular responses.Oligo(ethylene glycol) moieties (−(CH2CH2O)n−, abbreviated as EGn) have proven to be the most protein-resistant functionality and remain the standard for comparison. In the present study, we analyzed fibronectin(FN) adsorption and cell adhesion to CH3/EG3 mixed self-assembled monolayers. In contrast to previousstudies with ellipsometry and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, we demonstrate significantradiolabeled FN adsorption onto EG3-containing surfaces, including pure EG3 monolayers. These FN-coated surfaces supported FN density-dependent increases in fibroblast adhesion strength. However, whileFN adsorbed irreversibly to CH3-terminated surfaces, adsorbed FN was removed from EG3 monolayersand the corresponding cell adhesion eliminated by long-term (16 h) incubation in either protein-free orserum-containing solutions. Once the adsorbed FN was eluted, EG3 monolayers remained nonadhesive,even in the presence of serum-containing media. These results provide new insights into the interactionsbetween cells and synthetic, nonadhesive surfaces.
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