The loss of an organ or tissue is one of the most frequent, devastating, and costly problems in human health care. One approach to replacing lost tissue function is attaching mammalian cells to natural or synthetic matrices and implanting the resulting device. The goal of this research is to develop polymeric systems that will serve as a scaffold for functioning mammalian cells. The optimal polymer system will optimize cellular function in vivo. The basic requirements for the scaffold include biodegradability, biocompatibility, suitable mechanical properties, and an adhesion moiety to facilitate cell attachment. Copolymers of Poly(lactic acid-co-Lysine) will be synthesized as a skeletal framework for the implantation device. These polymers will have a pendent free amine functionality for the grafting of a cell adhesion moiety. A modification to these systems is available through the incorporation of a dendritic graft to which the GRGDY peptide, the cell adhesion moiety, will be attached. The use of dendritic materials in tissue engineering remains unexplored. The defined architecture of the dendritic graft will lend itself to potential benefits in promoting cell adhesion and cell growth.
