Temperature responsive dishes are promising materials for fabricating a “cell sheet” in tissue engineering. In this study, we have synthesized the copolymers of hyperbranched polystyrene and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (HBPSt-g-PNIPAM), and utilized it as a surface modifier of conventional cell culture dishes (Figure 1). HBPSt-g-PNIPAM was synthesized by grafting PNIPAM from the termini of HBPSt via reversible addition fragmentation transfer polymerization. The resulting HBPSt-g-PNIPAM was cast from a solution onto a commercial polystyrene (PS) dish to fabricate a thermo-responsive surface (HBP/dish) for cell cultivation. Mouse 3T3 fibroblast cells were seeded on the prepared dish and cultured at 37 oC for four days to achieve high confluent. Fairly large cell sheet was successfully collected by cooling the dish to 20 oC. Linear analogue (LPS-b-PNIPAM) was also synthesized and cast onto a PS dish to obtain LPS/dish in a similar manner; however it could not detach a cell sheet in the same condition. To discuss the effect of the dendritic structure on the cell sheet detachment performance, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of HBPSt-g-PNIPAM and LPS-b-PNIPAM were studied. The results of the LB film accumulation suggest that the hyperbranched structure of the PS segment contribute to the exposure and immobilization of the PS segment onto the PS dish. The current material avoids the use of electron beam polymerization, which requires complicated equipment, for manufacturing a thermo-responsive surface.

Copolymer of hyperbranched polystyrene and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) as a thermo-responsive biomaterial for cell sheet recovery

251st National Meeting (2016)

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