IMMOBILIZATION OF THE CELL-ADHESIVE PEPTIDE ARG-GLY-ASP-CYS (RGDC) ONTITANIUM SURFACES BY COVALENT CHEMICAL ATTACHMENT

Surface modification of acid-pretreated titanium with 3-aminopropyltri ethoxylsilane (APTES) in dry toluene resulted in covalently bonded sil oxane films with surface coverage that was relatively controllable by regulating the reaction conditions. A hetero-bifunctional cross-linker , N-succinimidyl-3-maleimidopropionate (SMP), reacted with the termina l amino groups, forming the exposed maleimide groups. Finally, a model cell-binding peptide, Arg-Gly-Asp-Cys (RGDC), was im mobilized on the surface through covalent addition of the cysteine thiol groups to the maleimide groups. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, radiolabelling te chniques, and ellipsometry were used to quantify and characterize the modified surfaces.