Polyelectrolytes multilayers to modulate cell adhesion: A study of the influence of film composition and polyelectrolyte interdigitation on the adhesion of the A549 cell line

D. GREGUREC; O. AZZARONI; M.A. PASQUALE; M. KOSUTIC,; N.E. MUZZIO; E. DIAMANTI; S.E. MOYA

MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH

Lugar: Weinheim; Año: 2016 vol. 16 p. 482 - 495

1616-5187

Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) with different polycation/polyanion pairs are fabricated bythe layer-by-layer technique employing synthetic, natural, and both types of polyelectrolytes.The impact of the chemical composition of PEMs on cell adhesion is assessed by studying cellshape, spreading area, focal contacts, and cell proliferation for the A549 cell line. Cells exhibit good adhesion on PEMs containing natural polycations and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) as polyanion, but limited adhesion is observed on PEMs fabricated from both naturalpolyelectrolytes. PEMs are then assembled, depositing a block of natural polyelectrolytes on top of a stiffer block with PSS as polyanion. Cell adhesion is enhanced on top of the diblock PEMs compared to purely natural PEMs. This fact could be explained by the interdigitation between polyelectrolytes from the two blocks. Diblock PEM assembly provides a simple means to tune cell adhesion on biocompatible PEMs.