Adhesion and growth of CaCo2 cells on surface-modified PEEK substrata

A series of surface-functionalized poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) films ha s been prepared by selective wet-chemistry; they are hydroxylated polymer ( PEEK-OH) obtained by reduction, aminated polymer (PEEK-[]-NH2) prepared by coupling a diisocyanate reagent to PEEK-OH (PEEK-[]-NCO) followed by hydrol ysis, and carboxylated and aminocarboxylated polymers (PEEK-[]-GABA and PEE K-Lysine) resulting from the coupling of aminoacids to PEEK-[]-NCO. The ami nated and carboxylated substrata promoted the adhesion and growth of CaCo2 cells in the presence of serum. Fibronectin (FN), an extra-cellular matrix protein, has been covalently fixed and/or adsorbed on various PEEK substrat a, in the presence or not of a polymeric surfactant (Pluronic F68), The per formances of the FN-grafted substrata (PEEK-[]-FN(1) and PEEK-[]-FN(2)) wer e significantly higher than those of reference substrata simply coated with FN (PEEK-OH(+FN)(1) and (2), PEEK-[]-NH2(+FN)(1) and (2)), considering the adhesion and spreading of CaCo2 cells in the absence of serum, Moreover, t he stability of the adherent cells on the FN-adsorbed substrata dramaticall y depended on the experimental conditions applied during the PEEK coating w ith FN.