Martina Buchtelová, Lucie Blahová, David Nečas, Petra Křížková, Jana Bartošíková, Jiřina Medalová, Zdeňka Kolská, Dirk Hegemann, Lenka Zajíčková
Insight into peculiar adhesion of cells to plasma-chemically prepared multifunctional “amino-glue” surfaces
Plasma Processes and Polymers 20 (2023) e2200157
Plasma polymers (PPs) can easily modify material surfaces to improve their bio-applicability due to match-made surface free energy and functionality. However, cell adhesion to PPs typically composed of various functional groups has not yet been fully understood. We explain the origin of strong resistance to trypsin treatment previously noted for non-endothelial cells on amine PPs. It is caused mainly by nonspecific adhesion of negatively charged parts of transmembrane proteins to the positively charged amine PP surface, enabled by thin glycocalyx, a carbohydrate coat surrounding the cell membrane. However, endothelial cells are bound primarily by their thick, negatively charged glycocalyx and sporadically by integrins in kinetic traps, both cleaved by trypsin. Cell scratching by AFM tip confirmed the correlation of trypsin resistance to the strength of cell adhesion.
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