@article{170321,
  keywords = {Animals, Polyethylene Glycols, Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions, microscopy, Surface Properties, Mice, Cell Adhesion, NIH 3T3 Cells, Titanium, Fumarates, Hydrogels, Zirconium},
  author = {Jeffrey Chen and Kelly Lim and Stephen Bandini and Greg Harris and Joshua Spechler and Craig Arnold and Romain Fardel and Jean Schwarzbauer and Jeffrey Schwartz},
  title = {Controlling the Surface Chemistry of a Hydrogel for Spatially Defined Cell Adhesion},
  abstract = {<p>A two-step synthesis is described for activating the surface of a fully hydrated hydrogel that is of interest as a possible scaffold for neural regeneration devices. The first step exploits the water content of the hydrogel and the hydrophobicity of the reaction solvent to create a thin oxide layer on the hydrogel surface using a common titanium or zirconium alkoxide. This layer serves as a reactive interface that enables rapid transformation of the hydrophilic, cell-nonadhesive hydrogel into either a highly hydrophobic surface by reaction with an alkylphosphonic acid, or into a cell-adhesive one using a (α,ω-diphosphono)alkane. Physically imprinting a mask ("debossing") into the hydrogel, followed by a two-step surface modification with a phosphonate, allows for patterning its surface to create spatially defined, cell-adhesive regions.</p>
},
  year = {2019},
  journal = {ACS Appl Mater Interfaces},
  volume = {11},
  pages = {15411-15416},
  month = {05/2019},
  issn = {1944-8252},
  doi = {10.1021/acsami.9b04023},
  language = {eng},
}