Abstract

Molecular Design of Functional Artificial Extracellular Matrix: Thermoresponsive Gelatin Thermoresponsive gelatin, partially grafted with poly (N, N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), was molecularly designed for an artificial extracellular matrix. Photo-induced “iniferter” based graft copolymerization of PNIPAM produced thermoresponsive gelatin. The phase transition of dissolution/precipitation occurs at around 34°C. Upon coating of the aqueous solution, cell adhesion and proliferation proceeded at physiological temperature. Cellular detachment and sheet-like tissue delamination occurred at room temperature. A tube-like structure of endothelial cells was formed using a capillary glass tube coated with the thermoresponsive gelatin. The mixed coating of PNIPAM-gelatin and PNIPAM produced cell adhesive matrices with a wide spectrum of cell adhesiveness. This enabled to monoclonal cell harvesting from different cell types, which was demonstrated with bovine endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells.