Peptide Modification of 3-Dimensional Surfaces to Enhance Cell Adhesion and Differentiation

Belita A. Opene, Jared D. Romeo, Meghan M. McLaughlin, Sudheer K. Ravuri, Peter J.Rubin, Kacey G. Marra, Ellen S. Gawalt

UC Ballroom  |  12:30-3:00 PM

Bone Tissue Engineering is an interdisciplinary field that applies the principles of biology and engineering to the development of viable synthetic substitutes that are able to restore and maintain the function of human bone tissues. The problem facing this therapy is that most cells fail to adhere properly to the scaffolds which lead to fibrous tissue formation around the implants. One strategy to solve this issue would be to immobilize a molecule that promotes cell adhesion onto the 3D scaffolds. This would ensure that cells adhere to the scaffolds, and it has the potential to enhance cell proliferation and cell differentiation. In this study, calcium aluminate (CA) was utilized as the scaffold. CA is a non-toxic, bioactive, and non-degradable material. CA also exhibits high mechanical strength and porosity. CA was modified by immobilizing the cell adhesion peptide Lys-Arg-Ser-Arg (KRSR) onto the surface via a novel chemical linker system. Cells of interest were primary human osteoblast and adipose-derived Stem Cells (ASCs). We hypothesized that CA surfaces modified with KRSR would enhance cell adhesion to the scaffolds as compared to unmodified CA. A cytotoxity assay was used to determine cell viability on the scaffolds at day one, four and seven day growth points.

This work was funded by Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative and NIH