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Fibronectin fibrillogenesis on sulfonated polystyrene surfaces
Author(s) -
Pernodet Nadine,
Rafailovich Miriam,
Sokolov Jonathan,
Xu D.,
Yang NanLoh,
McLeod Kenneth
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.10394
Subject(s) - fibrillogenesis , materials science , polystyrene , fibronectin , biophysics , composite material , polymer science , polymer chemistry , polymer , fibril , extracellular matrix , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Extracellular matrix (ECM) protein adsorption and organization serves as a critical first step in the development and organization of tissues. Advances in tissue engineering, therefore, will depend on the ability to control the rate and pattern of ECM formation. Fibronectin is a prominent component of the ECM, which undergoes fibrillogenesis in the presence of cells. Using sulfonated polysyrene surfaces, we showed that fibronectin undergoes a transition from monolayer to multilayer adsorption at calculated surface charge densities above 0.03 Coulombs (C)/m 2 . At charge densities above approximately 0.08 C/m 2 , distinct fibronectin fibrillar networks are observed to form with a fibril morphology similar to those observed to form in situ on cell surfaces. This self‐organization process is time dependent, with the fibrils achieving dimensions of 30–40 μm in length and 1 μm in height after 72 h of incubation. We suggest that the polarization of charge domains on the polyampholytic fibronectin molecules near high charge density surfaces is sufficient to initiate the multilayer adsorption and the organization of these fibrillar structures. These results suggest that the nonlinear dependence of adsorption on surface charge density may play an important role in the self‐organization of many matrix components. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 64A: 684–692, 2003