title: A novel strategy to obtain a hyaluronan monolayer on solid substrates.
abstract: The aim of this study was to find a novel simple method to obtain polysaccharide ultrathin layers on solid substrates to investigate the interaction between the surface and the biological environment. A Hyaluronan (Hyal) monolayer with a well-defined chemistry was obtained by exploiting the capability of organosilanes to spontaneously adhere onto glass surfaces. A silane alkylic chain was conjugated with Hyal, and the derivatized polysaccharide was allowed to spontaneously adhere onto a glass surface. The elemental analysis of the modified polysaccharide demonstrated that one out of five disaccharide units was conjugated with the alkyl silane chain, corresponding to a substitution degree of the carboxylate groups of approximately 20%. The film of the modified polysaccharide was characterized by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), water contact angle, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. XPS analysis demonstrated that we obtained a Hyal layer with a thickness of about 2.0 nm corresponding to a Hyal monolayer. The Hyal-coated surfaces appeared to be rather smooth and highly hydrophilic and showed significant resistance to nonspecific cell adhesion.
authors.affiliation: CRISMA and Department of Chemical and Biosystems Sciences and Technologies, University of Siena, Via A. Moro 2, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pasqui
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Atrei
authors.forename: Rolando
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barbucci
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid