A bioconjugate of Lys and Arg mimics biological activity of the Arg-Gly-Asp peptide sequence.

A peptidomimetic, 2-amino-6-[(2-amino-5{guanidino}pentanoyl) amino] hexanoic acid, was synthesized using Lys and Arg to produce a compound that mimics the biological activity of a cell adhesive Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide, GRGDSP. When immobilized on solid substrates, the peptidomimetic promoted cell adhesion similar to substrates with immobilized GRGDSP. Ligand competition studies demonstrated that cell interactions with the peptidomimetic were integrin-mediated.

Glial cell and fibroblast cytotoxicity study on 4026-cyclotene photosensitive benzocyclobutene (BCB) polymer films.

Photosensitive benzocyclobutene (photo-BCB) is a class of polymers with the trade name Cyclotene. The photoimagable property of Cyclotene makes it suitable for the manufacture of microelectronic devices. The motivation behind this study is that we see an exciting application of photo-BCB as substrates in implantable microelectronic biomedical devices due to several desirable properties distinctive from other polymer materials.

Glial cell and fibroblast cytotoxicity study on plasma-deposited diamond-like carbon coatings.

Diamond-like carbon films have been evaluated as coatings to improve biocompatibility of orthopedic and cardiovascular implants. This study initiates a series of investigations that will evaluate diamond-like carbon (DLC) as a coating for improved biocompatibility in chronic neuroprosthetic implants. Studies in this report assess the cytotoxicity and cell adhesion behavior of DLC coatings exposed to glial and fibroblast cell lines in vitro.