Macromolecular Bioscience

Cover: Two different kinds of nano-featured polystyrene surfaces containing nanopore or nanopillar arrays have been replicated by hot embossing with nickel nano-stamps in order to investigate the effect of nano-featured surfaces on the behaviors of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). Compared to the flat surface, the ASCs on the nano-featured surfaces exhibited different behaviors, such as cell morphology, integrin expression, and differentiation. Further details can be found in the article by K.-S. Park, K. J. Cha, I.-B. Han, D.-A. Shin, D.-W. Cho, S.-H. Lee, and D. S. Kim* on page 1480.

24 β-cyclodextrins are displayed on the surface of a human ferritin in distinct positions through thiol-mediated conjugation followed by copper(I)-catalyzed azide/alkyne cycloaddition. These β-cyclodextrins displayed on the surface show an excellent capability to form inclusion complexes with FITC-ADs via molecular recognition and to release them reversibly.

The influence of the surface roughness and charge of nanoparticles on the cellular uptake rate and route is studied. Rough (Pickering-type) and smooth (surfactant-stabilized), oppositely charged nanoparticles with a size of around 200 nm offer distinct differences in the interaction and cellular uptake behavior.

Near IR fluorescent core/shell polystyrene/HSA nanoparticles are prepared and characterised for in vivo diagnostics. The potential of the nanoparticles for use in early diagnosis of colon cancer is demonstrated with specific tumour labelling of LS174T, SW480 and HT29 human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines, using in ovo (chicken embryo) and in vivo (mouse) models.

Artificial nano-featured substrates can be applied for controlling cell behavior. Polystyrene nano-featured substrates with nanopore (NPo) and nanopillar (NPi) arrays are replicated by a polymer molding technique and the behaviors of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are investigated on them. By comparison with a flat substrate, the effect of NPo- and NPi-featured substrates on the attachment, morphology, integrin expression and differentiation of ASCs is shown.

Covalent crosslinking of PEG in the presence of collagen leads to robust and semi-interpenetrating hydrogels. The addition of collagen enhances viscoelasticity, elongation as well as cell adhesion and proliferation. Results suggest the potential of these hydrogels for elastomeric tissue scaffolds applications.

Presented here is a method to produce biomimetic hydrogels with controlled cell adhesive properties and topographical features. Our findings suggest that hydrogels prepared by this method with specifically engineered cues may be of value in studies of regulatory mechanisms in cell-ECM communication.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is loaded into mPEG-b-PLG and a combination with cyclic iRGD (CRGDKGPDC) is applied for non-small-cell lung cancer therapy. In vivo results show that the toxicity of CDDP is significantly reduced by incorporating into PLG, and the anti-tumor effect is clearly increased when iRGD is coadministrated.

PIX/γ-PGA NPs are prepared by mixing anionic γ-PGA and the anticancer drug PDM in water. They exhibit pH-dependent release behavior under the simulated environment of the gastrointestinal tract. In vitro studies show that PIX/γ-PGA NPs can be effectively internalized by Lovo cancer cells and display potent anticancer efficacy. The IC₅₀ of PIX/γ-PGA NPs is 0.40 µg mL⁻¹.

The mechanism of the cellular uptake of polyelectrolyte microcapsules and its influences on the functions of SMCs are reported. The capsules are easily ingested by SMCs mainly through macropinosis and caveolae-mediated endocytosis pathways. The uptake of microcapsules causes profound alternation of cell functions such as cytoskeleton organization, cell cycle, cell adhesion, and migration ability.

Artificial proteins mimicking elastin are produced by the expression of synthetic genes. Two prototypic elastin-based biopolymers are assayed to validate their potential for tissue-engineering applications with MSCs. Biomimetic surfaces are prepared, characterized and then evaluated for cytocompatibility. The effect of these substrates toward osteogenic differentiation of cells is explored.

Photograph of a bioinspired-polymer-coated spherical probe being retracted from rat small-intestinal mucus. The necking of the mucus in response to the movement of the probe shows the strong bioadhesive nature of the bioinspired polymer. Dopa-functional, mussel-mimetic bioadhesive polymers for use in oral drug delivery are described.

An electrospun silk fibroin tubular construct is hybridized with type I collagen gel to produce a scaffold with potential applications as small calibre blood vessel graft. The proposed nanofibrillar tube possesses mechanical properties (i.e., compliance) comparable to the one of saphenous veins and favors the early response of the material to cell culturing.

Tripeptide reduced glutathione (GSH) is conjugated to acrylate-functional block glycocopolymers through an acid-labile β-thiopropionate linkage. The glycopolymer/GSH bioconjugate self-assembles to sugar-installed spherical micelles with pH-sensitive, degradation, and biological recognition characteristics.

Fluorescent polymeric micelles containing tetraphenylethylene (TPE) moieties are prepared by taking advantage of the aggregation-induced emission feature of TPE. These fluorescent polymeric micelles are successfully employed for the detection of D-glucose in the presence of GOx and KI by utilizing the cascaded enzymatic and chemical oxidations.