Facile Surface Modification and Application of Temperature Responsive Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-dopamine methacrylamide)

The temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) [PNIPAAm] has been exploited for various biomedical applications. In this work, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-dopamine methacrylamide) [P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm)] was synthesized for facile surface modification and application to cell sheets. 1H NMR, FT-IR, and GPC confirmed the successful synthesis of P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm). The lower critical solution temperature was measured to be ca. 29.2 degrees C by UVVis spectroscopy. AFM imaging clearly visualized the transient phase transition of the temperature-responsive polymer bound on silicon substrate by coordination bond formation. Furthermore, the adhesive and temperature responsive P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm) could be successfully applied to the facile preparation of NIH-3T3 fibroblast cell sheets.