Control of cell behavior on the polymer functionalized biointerface

Micropatterned PEGylated substrates with two-dimensional arrays of plasma-etched circular domains were prepared by coating of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) based polymer on the substrate, followed by plasma-etching through a metal mask pattern with circular holes. The PEGylated region on the patterned substrate works to repel proteins, consequently, inhibits cell adhesion. Then the micro-patterning of bovine articular chondrocytes or rat primary hepatocytes hetero-spheroids underlaid with endothelial cells was achieved on the plasma-etched circular domains, exposing the base substrate surface. PEG-g-pyridine copolymer was then synthesized for long-term cell culture, which is expected to have long stability, to overcome deterioration of polymer modified surface at room temperature and atmospheric conditions when single-point adsorption was employed.