The goal of this proposal is to train the principle investigator to become an independent scientist in the field of tissue engineering. The first two years of the proposal will involve didactic training in the area of cell biology and the biological sciences. The next three years will involve executing a mentor guided research project. This project involves studying controlling the cellular response of a pre-osteoblast cell line using block copolymers. Using living or controlled free radical polymerization well-defined block copolymers from the acrylate and methacrylate families of monomer can be readily synthesized. These monomers are known to yield polymers that are biocompatible and used widely in biomaterials. The resulting morphologies from the phase segregated block copolymers can be controlled by the block size and spatial arrangement. It is expected that these morphologies can control the behavior of the cell lines. In most polymer systems, either the morphology or the surface chemistry is varied to control cell response. In the proposed system, both the morphology and surface chemistry will be varied in a controlled fashion and the effect of each on a given cellular response can be determined. This will lead to a better understanding of cell-material interaction and to the design of improved tissue engineering scaffolds. Fibronectin assays will be employed to measure the adhesion and conformation on the polymer surface. Proteins adsorbed to a polymer surface play a large role in regulating the behavior and phenotype of the cell. The adhesion and conformation data is expected to correlate to the cell responses of a MC3T3-E1cell line. Several cell responses will be measured as part of this proposal, cell proliferation and activity, cell morphology and adhesion and cell differentiation. Understanding the interaction of a systematically modulated polymer surface with a cell line will lead to the development of improved scaffold materials.
| Palacio, M L B; Schricker, S R; Bhushan, B (2012) Block copolymer arrangement and composition effects on protein conformation using atomic force microscope-based antigen-antibody adhesion. J Biomed Mater Res A 100:978-88 |
| Palacio, Manuel L B; Schricker, Scott R; Bhushan, Bharat (2012) Protein conformation changes on block copolymer surfaces detected by antibody-functionalized atomic force microscope tips. J Biomed Mater Res A 100:18-25 |
| Schricker, Scott; Palacio, Manuel; Thirumamagal, B T S et al. (2010) Synthesis and morphological characterization of block copolymers for improved biomaterials. Ultramicroscopy 110:639-49 |
