by Keyword: surface engineering
Martínez-Miguel, M, Castellote-Borrell, M, Köber, M, Kyvik, AR, Tomsen-Melero, J, Vargas-Nadal, G, Muñoz, J, Pulido, D, Cristóbal-Lecina, E, Passemard, S, Royo, M, Mas-Torrent, M, Veciana, J, Giannotti, MI, Guasch, J, Ventosa, N, Ratera, I, (2022). Hierarchical Quatsome-RGD Nanoarchitectonic Surfaces for Enhanced Integrin-Mediated Cell Adhesion Acs Applied Materials & Interfaces 14, 48179-48193 
The synthesis and study of the tripeptide Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), the binding site of different extracellular matrix proteins, e.g., fibronectin and vitronectin, has allowed the production of a wide range of cell adhesive surfaces. Although the surface density and spacing of the RGD peptide at the nanoscale have already shown a significant influence on cell adhesion, the impact of its hierarchical nanostructure is still rather unexplored. Accordingly, a versatile colloidal system named quatsomes, based on fluid nanovesicles formed by the self-assembling of cholesterol and surfactant molecules, has been devised as a novel template to achieve hierarchical nanostructures of the RGD peptide. To this end, RGD was anchored on the vesicle's fluid membrane of quatsomes, and the RGD-functionalized nanovesicles were covalently anchored to planar gold surfaces, forming a state of quasi-suspension, through a long poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chain with a thiol termination. An underlying self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of a shorter PEG was introduced for vesicle stabilization and to avoid unspecific cell adhesion. In comparison with substrates featuring a homogeneous distribution of RGD peptides, the resulting hierarchical nanoarchitectonic dramatically enhanced cell adhesion, despite lower overall RGD molecules on the surface. The new versatile platform was thoroughly characterized using a multitechnique approach, proving its enhanced performance. These findings open new methods for the hierarchical immobilization of biomolecules on surfaces using quatsomes as a robust and novel tissue engineering strategy.
JTD Keywords: activation, arg-gly-asp (rgd), cell adhesion, extracellular-matrix, growth, integrins, ligands, nanopatterns, quatsomes, scaffolds, self-assembled monolayers, surface engineering, tissue engineering, Arg-gly-asp (rgd), Cell adhesion, Integrins, Nano-structured surfaces, Nanovesicles, Quatsomes, Self-assembled monolayers, Surface engineering, Tissue engineering
Benetti, E., Navarro, M., Zapotoczny, S., Vancso, G. J., (2009). Stimuli-Responsive Polymer Brushes 
Surface Design: Applications in Bioscience and Nanotechnology (ed. Förch, R. , Schönherr, H. , Jenkins, A.T.A), Wiley-VCH GmbH & Co. KGaA (Weinheim, Germany) , 125-144
