A novel class of cell adhesion substrates has been developed and partially characterized. These materials contain covalently attached peptide ligands for cell-surface receptors, and the particular structure of these peptides is based on the structure of proteins, called cell adhesion molecules, that mediate cell adhesion. Such an approach to cell attachment substrates provides a significant engineering advantage in enhanced control, specificity, stability, and synthetic ease. These materials may have important applications in cell culture technology and biomedical materials technology.
