Neural cell pattern formation on glass and oxidized silicon surfaces modified with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)

Control over the adsorption of proteins and over the adsorption and spatial orientation of mammalian cells onto surfaces has been achieved by modification of glass and other silicon oxide substrates with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). The functionalization of the substrates was achieved either by a polymer-analogous reaction of aminosilanes with reactive N-(isopropylacrylamide) (NIPAM)-copolymers and by copolymerization of NIPAM with surface-bound methacrylsilane. The obtained coatings were characterized by FT-1R, ellipsometry, and surface plasmon resonance measurements. The adsorption of two proteins-fibrinogen and ribonuclease A-on these surfaces was studied in situ by real time su…