Fe. Black et al., Surface engineering and surface analysis of a biodegradable polymer with biotinylated end groups, LANGMUIR, 15(9), 1999, pp. 3157-3161
In the design of advanced polymeric biomaterials there is a need to tailor
the surface chemistry of the biomaterial to elicit beneficial interactions
with cells and biomolecules. To facilitate the fabrication of complex bioma
terial surfaces, we have previously described the synthesis and application
of a poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) block copolymer (PLA-PEG) wit
h the biotinylated PEG end groups (final polymer termed PLA-PEG-biotin). Th
is polymer is biodegradable and resistant to nonspecific protein adsorption
, and the biotin moiety allows surface chemical engineering to be achieved
using avidin-biotin interactions. Here, we describe a detailed surface anal
ysis of this polymer using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and surface pla
smon resonance analysis. This analysis has revealed that the avidin-biotin
surface engineering strategy is a rapid method of immobilizing biomolecules
at biomaterial surfaces under aqueous conditions. The surface engineering
generates a specific and high-density change in surface structure. The effe
ct of PLA segment molecular weight and the influence of the surfactant on t
he nature of the surface engineering has been determined with the objective
of proving that the extent of specific ligand immobilization is controllab
le and resilient to surface stabilization by surfactants.