title: Biomimetic poly(amidoamine) hydrogels as synthetic materials for cell culture.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Poly(amidoamine)s (PAAs) are synthetic polymers endowed with many biologically interesting properties, being highly biocompatible, non toxic and biodegradable. Hydrogels based on PAAs can be easily modified during the synthesis by the introduction of functional co-monomers. Aim of this work is the development and testing of novel amphoteric nanosized poly(amidoamine) hydrogel film incorporating 4-aminobutylguanidine (agmatine) moieties to create RGD-mimicking repeating units for promoting cell adhesion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A systematic comparative study of the response of an epithelial cell line was performed on hydrogels with agmatine and on non-functionalized amphoteric poly(amidoamine) hydrogels and tissue culture plastic substrates. The cell adhesion on the agmatine containing substrates was comparable to that on plastic substrates and significantly enhanced with respect to the non-functionalized controls. Interestingly, spreading and proliferation on the functionalized supports are slower than on plastic exhibiting the possibility of an easier control of the cell growth kinetics. In order to favor the handling of the samples, a procedure for the production of bi-layered constructs was also developed by means the deposition via spin coating of a thin layer of hydrogel on a pre-treated cover slip.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The obtained results reveal that PAAs hydrogels can be profitably functionalized and, in general, undergo physical and chemical modifications to meet specific requirements. In particular the incorporation of agmatine warrants good potential in the field of cell culturing and the development of supported functionalized hydrogels on cover glass are very promising substrates for applications in cell screening devices.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Fisiologia Generale e Chimica Biologica, Università di Milano, via Trentacoste 2, 20134 Milano, Italy. cristina.lenardi@mi.infn.it.
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jacchetti
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Emilitri
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodighiero
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Indrieri
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gianfelice
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lenardi
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Podestà
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ranucci
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferruti
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Milani