Cell attachment to PET films coated with a thermo-sensitive block co-polymer with different chemical composition

This objective of this study is to characterize the surface of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films coated with the thermo-sensitive di-block co-polymers of 2-ethoxyethyl vinyl ether and 2-phenoxyethyl vinyl ether segments (EOVE-b-PhOVE) with a high polydispersity and evaluate the behavior of cell attachment on them at different temperatures. The EOVE segment possessed a low critical solution temperature at 20°C while the hydrophobic PhOVE segment functioned as the site to allow the co-polymer to adsorb onto the PET films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements revealed that the PET film was coated with the EOVE-b-PhOVE co-polymers. The density of co-polymers coated increased with the concentration of co-polymers used for coating. Irrespective of the co-polymer type, 3T3L1 cells attached on the surface of coated films at 37°C, while the cells showed a spread shape, which is similar to that of cells attached on the original non-coated film. However, when the temperature decreased from 37 to 4°C, the cell shape changed to be round, in contrast to that of the original PET film. The percent increase of round cells depended on the coating density and the polymerization degree of EOVE segment.