Thermo-responsive poly(di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) brushes as substrate-independent release coatings for cell culture and selective cell separation and purification

A systematic study on the surface-initiated polymerization of di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (DEGMA) by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) from glass, silicon, titanium as well as tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) is reported in an attempt to expand the known thermoresponsive poly(di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (PDEGMA) cell release layers on gold to other substrates. The use of these substrate materials requires an altered immobilization chemistry to couple a bromide containing ATRP initiator to the surfaces. Using aminosilanes or polydopamine as coupling layers for the attachment of α-bromoisobutyryl bromide (BiBB) and the direct functionalization of surface hydroxyl groups with trichlorosilane-functionalized ATRP initiators all surfaces studied were shown to facilitate the growth of PDEGMA brushes using the same conditions that were reported previously for polymerization on gold. The brush layers obtained were characterized systematically using wetting, ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses. Selective cell release and separation of PaTu 8988t and NIH 3T3 cells, which are known to exhibit different behavior after temperature drop-induced brush swelling, was observed for all substrates, albeit for different brush thicknesses, implying variations in initiator and also PDEGMA grafting density. The successful modification of biomedically relevant materials (Ti and TCPS) implies that the previously reported stem cell purification and selective cell release of various cell types, which is facilitated by PDEGMA brushes, can be realized and consequently scaled up in the future.