Implant devices containing insulin-secreting β-cells hold great promise for the treatment of diabetes. Using in vitro cell culture, long-term function and viability are enhanced when β-cells are cultured with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Here, our goal is to engineer a favorable environment within implant devices, where ECM proteins are stably immobilized on polymer scaffolds, to better support β-cell adhesion. Four different polymer candidates (low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene (PS), polyethersulfone (PES) and polysulfone (PSU)) were treated using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) to enable the covalent attachment of laminin on their surfaces. Surface characterisation analysis shows the increased hydrophilicity, polar groups and radical density on all polymers after the treatment. Among the four polymers, PIII-treated LDPE has the highest water contact angle and the lowest radical density which correlate well with the non-significant protein binding improvement observed after 2 months of storage. The study found that the radical density created by PIII treatment of aromatic polymers was higher than that created by the treatment of aliphatic polymers. The higher radical density significantly improves laminin attachment to aromatic polymers, making them better substrates for β-cell adhesion.

中文翻译：

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用于 β 细胞粘附的生物功能化聚合物的等离子体表面工程

含有分泌胰岛素的 β 细胞的植入装置在治疗糖尿病方面具有广阔的前景。使用体外细胞培养，当 β 细胞与细胞外基质 (ECM) 蛋白一起培养时，其长期功能和活力得到增强。在这里，我们的目标是在植入装置内设计一个有利的环境，其中 ECM 蛋白稳定地固定在聚合物支架上，以更好地支持 β 细胞粘附。四种不同的候选聚合物（低密度聚乙烯 (LDPE)、聚苯乙烯 (PS)、聚醚砜 (PES) 和聚砜 (PSU)）使用等离子体浸入离子注入 (PIII) 进行处理，以使层粘连蛋白共价附着在其表面上。表面表征分析表明，处理后所有聚合物的亲水性、极性基团和自由基密度均增加。在四种聚合物中，PIII 处理的 LDPE 具有最高的水接触角和最低的自由基密度，这与储存 2 个月后观察到的非显着蛋白质结合改善密切相关。研究发现，PIII 处理芳族聚合物产生的自由基密度高于处理脂肪族聚合物产生的自由基密度。较高的自由基密度显着改善了层粘连蛋白对芳香聚合物的附着，使它们成为 β 细胞粘附的更好底物。