Influence of a Solid Surface on PNIPAM Microgel Films

Year: 2024

Authors: Nigro V., Angelini R., Buratti E., Colantonio C., D’Amato R., Dinelli F., Franco S., Limosani F., Montereali RM., Nichelatti E., Piccinini M., Vincenti MA., Ruzicka B.

Autors Affiliation: ENEA CR Frascati, Nucl Dept, Via Enr Fermi 45, I-00044 Frascati, Italy; Sapienza Univ Rome, Inst Complex Syst, Natl Res Council ISC CNR, Ple A Moro 2, I-00185 Rome, Italy; Sapienza Univ, Phys Dept, Ple Aldo Moro 2, I-00185 Rome, Italy; Univ Ferrara, Dept Chem Pharmaceut & Agr Sci, Via Luigi Borsari 46, I-14412 Ferrara, Italy; Natl Inst Opt INO CNR, Via Moruzzi 1, I-56124 Pisa, Italy; ENEA CR Casaccia, Nucl Dept, Via Anguillarese 301, I-00123 Rome, Italy.

Abstract: Stimuli-responsive microgels have attracted great interest in recent years as building blocks for fabricating smart surfaces with many technological applications. In particular, PNIPAM microgels are promising candidates for creating thermo-responsive scaffolds to control cell growth and detachment via temperature stimuli. In this framework, understanding the influence of the solid substrate is critical for tailoring microgel coatings to specific applications. The surface modification of the substrate is a winning strategy used to manage microgel-substrate interactions. To control the spreading of microgel particles on a solid surface, glass substrates are coated with a PEI or an APTES layer to improve surface hydrophobicity and add positive charges on the interface. A systematic investigation of PNIPAM microgels spin-coated through a double-step deposition protocol on pristine glass and on functionalised glasses was performed by combining wettability measurements and Atomic Force Microscopy. The greater flattening of microgel particles on less hydrophilic substrates can be explained as a consequence of the reduced shielding of the water-substrate interactions that favors electrostatic interactions between microgels and the substrate. This approach allows the yielding of effective control on microgel coatings that will help to unlock new possibilities for their application in biomedical devices, sensors, or responsive surfaces.

Journal/Review: GELS

Volume: 10 (7)      Pages from: 473-1  to: 473-11

More Information: This research was funded by Regione Lazio, L.R. 13/2008, Progetto BIOTRACK (Fluorescent Nuclear Track Detectors for Radiobiology) N.Prot. A0375-2020-36509.
KeyWords: microgels; PNIPAM; thin films; surface modification
DOI: 10.3390/gels10070473

Citations: 2
data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2024-11-10
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