title: Surface functionalization of hyaluronic acid hydrogels by polyelectrolyte multilayer films.
abstract: Hyaluronic acid (HA), an anionic polysaccharide, is one of the major components of the natural extracellular matrix (ECM). Although HA has been widely used for tissue engineering applications, it does not support cell attachment and spreading and needs chemical modification to support cellular adhesion. Here, we present a simple approach to functionalize photocrosslinked HA hydrogels by deposition of poly(l-lysine) (PLL) and HA multilayer films made by the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. PLL/HA multilayer film formation was assessed by using fluorescence microscopy, contact angle measurements, cationic dye loading and confocal microscopy. The effect of polyelectrolyte multilayer film (PEM) formation on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of hydrogels revealed polyelectrolyte diffusion inside the hydrogel pores, increased hydrophobicity of the surface, reduced equilibrium swelling, and reduced compressive moduli of the modified hydrogels. Furthermore, NIH-3T3 fibroblasts seeded on the surface showed improved cell attachment and spreading on the multilayer functionalized hydrogels. Thus, modification of HA hydrogel surfaces with multilayer films affected their physicochemical properties and improved cell adhesion and spreading on these surfaces. This new hydrogel/PEM composite system may offer possibilities for various biomedical and tissue engineering applications, including growth factor delivery and co-culture systems.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 65 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Seda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamanlar
authors.forename: Shilpa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sant
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boudou
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Picart
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khademhosseini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D011108:Polymers; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid