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Sulphonated polystyrene as an optimal substratum for the adhesion and spreading of mesenchymal cells in monovalent and divalent saline solutions
Author(s) -
Maroudas N. G.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.1040900314
Subject(s) - divalent , biophysics , adhesion , polystyrene , bovine serum albumin , chemistry , adsorption , penetration (warfare) , surface charge , cell adhesion , polymer , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , chromatography , organic chemistry , biology , operations research , engineering
Cell adhesion and spreading were studied on sulphonated polystyrene dishes in serum‐free saline (Mn, Na, Cl, buffer) i.e., without an intervening protein layer. Spreading as a function of surface charge density, SCD, peaked around 2–10 negative charges per square nanometer, corresponding to a monomolecular layer of sulphonate ions. At optimal SCD, macrophages, BHK‐C13 and whole mouse embryo secondary cells all showed considerable spreading, even in monovalent saline–more so than on a conventional tissue‐culture surface. But outside this narrow range of SCD, or on protein‐coated surfaces, the divalent cation was indispensable. The biphasic effect of sulphonation on cell adhesion is consistent with the theory that a substratum need not be biochemically specific, provided it is physicochemically polar, rigid and dense. According to this theory, polystyrene of sub‐optimal SCD would not be sufficiently polar, while supra‐optimal sulphonation would produce a hydrogel surface, lacking in local rigidity and density, due to osmotic swelling. The principle of polymer exclusion, by a surface hydrogel layer, is also consistent with observations on the inhibitory effects of adsorbed proteins–viz., albumin, collagen, serum and cellular exudate, respectively–contrasted with the ready attachment of cells to a bare, optimally charged substratum, in this minimal in vitro system.