Functional dendrimer modified ultra-hydrophilic trapping copolymer network towards highly efficient cell capture

• The 3D network structure can trap cells and increase contact probability.
• The usage of dendrimers has assisted in improving the capture efficiency.
• The substrate which is soft and ultra-hydrophilic can keep the viability of cells.

Highly efficient isolation of living tumor cells possesses great significance in research of cancer. Hence, we have designed the 3-aminophenylboronic acid (APBA) derivative dendrimer-functionalized 3D network polyacrylamide/poly (methyl methacrylate) copolymer as capture substrate which is easily prepared, template free and low-cost. The structure of copolymer is compared to “fishing net” in order to increase the contact between cells and substrates. The application of poly (amidoamine) dendrimers provides abundant amino groups to react with APBA which is just like “baits” that can bond with sialic acid in the cytomembrane to realize cell capture. The 3D network structure trammels cancer cells, offers great reaction space and displays hydrophilic surface, which has immensely improved the contact probability of cells and materials. Due to the 3D network structure and dendrimer, this material can achieve a high capture efficiency of 87±5% in 45 min. The viability of captured cells is nearly 100%, as a result of the soft and hydrophilic surface and hypotoxicity of this copolymer.

In this work, we have successfully designed and synthesized the dendrimers modified ultra-hydrophilic copolymer with the trapping network structure and plenty of reaction sites to enhance the affinity of materials and target cells, the synthesized materials can achieve highly efficiency of cell capture, meanwhile keep the cell ability.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide