Cell sheet detachment from poly(N-vinylcaprolactam-co-N-isopropylacrylamide) grafted onto tissue culture polystyrene dishes

Abstract

Fabrication of functional tissue constructs using sandwiched layers of cultured cells could prove to be an attractive approach to tissue engineering. Rapid detachment of cultured cell sheets is a very important recovery method that permits facile manipulation of the sheet and prevents functional damage. To induce hydrophilic and hydrophobic structural changes on the required culture substrate in response to a culture temperature alteration, poly(N-vinylcaprolactam-co-N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNVCL-co-PNIPAAm) was grafted onto tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) dishes through electron beam irradiation. Chemical analyses using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy revealed that PNVCL-co-PNIPAAm was successfully grafted onto the surfaces of the TCPS dishes. The TCPS dishes grafted with PNVCL-co-PNIPAAm were utilized for the cell sheet detachment experiments. Approximately 150 min was required to detach most of the cell sheets from the PNVCL-co-PNIPAAm-grafted TCPS surfaces.