The use of reactive polymer coatings to facilitate gene delivery from poly (ɛ-caprolactone) scaffolds

To functionalize biomaterials for bioconjugation, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) polymerization technique was utilized to modify material surfaces. Poly [(4-amino-p-xylylene)-co-(p-xylylene)] (PPX–NH2) was deposited on inert polycaprolactone (PCL) surfaces to provide a reactive amine layer on the substrate surfaces. The biocompatibility of PPX–NH2 was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. The results demonstrated that cells continuously proliferated on CVD treated PCL surfaces with high survival rates. Biotin was conjugated on modified PCL surfaces to immobilize avidin for binding of biotinylated adenovirus. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination illustrated that adenoviruses were evenly bound on both 2-D films and 3-D scaffolds, suggesting CVD was capable of modifying various substrates with different geometries. Using a wax masking technique, the biotin conjugation was controlled to immobilize avidin on specific sites. Due to the virus binding specificity on CVD-modified surfaces, cell transduction was restricted to the pattern of immobilized virus on biomaterials, by which transduced and non-transduced cells were controlled in different regions with a distinct interface. Because CVD was functional in different hierarchies, this surface modification should be able to custom-tailor bioconjugation for different applications.