It is widely accepted that biomimetic culture systems should replicate natural tissues as closely as possible to promote optimal cell proliferation, migration, differentiation and survival. These systems are important for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, biosensors and the development of cellular models of disease. There are many techniques (e.g. microcontact printing, photo- and nanolithography, inkjet printing and photoimmobilisation) that can spatially deposit bioactive molecules for the patterning and guidance of cells. These techniques can suffer from poor cytocompatibility and spatial resolution.
Work by De Bank’s group at the University of Bath reported in this hot paper describes the patterning of biomaterial matrices with multiple bioactive molecules using a caged aldehyde linker. This approach removes any possible unwanted reactivity with functional groups commonly found in biological systems. The authors report that the caged linker can be coupled to many different biomaterials and readily undergoes photolysis in aqueous media. It is suggested that this general approach will have applications in advancing many areas – tissue modelling, tissue engineering, biosensors and regenerative medicine.
A photocleavable linker for the chemoselective functionalization of biomaterials
J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 21878. DOI: 10.1039/c2jm35173k
(free to read for a short time)
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