Nanoscale Control of Surface Immobilized BMP-2: Toward a Quantitative Assessment of BMP-Mediated Signaling Events

In this work we determine the impact of surface density of immobilized BMP-2 on intracellular signal transduction. We use block copolymer micellar nanolithography to fabric-Ate substrates with precisely spaced and tunable gold nanoparticle,arrays tarrying single BMP-2 molecules. We found that the immobilized growth factor triggers prolonged and elevated Smad signaling pathway activation compared to the same amount of soluble protein: This approach is suitable for achieving controlled and sustained local delivery of BMP-2 and other growth factors.