Dec 2023
Abstract
Antifouling polymer layers containing extracellular matrix-derived peptide motifs offer promising new options for biomimetic surface engineering. In this lecture, I will address a biomimetic design of antifouling polymer brushes bearing biofunctional peptide motifs for tissue regeneration applications. I will demonstrate how we can attain polymer brush conformation by utilizing grafting-to and grafting-from synthesis methods, and further how we functionalize the brushes with various biomimetic peptide sequences, such as RGD and TYRAY. The characterization of obtained systems will go beyond the state-of-the art findings based on far-field analytical techniques for proving the brush character of the synthesized polymer structures, their antifouling character and the biofunctionality induced by the presence of various peptide motifs. By utilizing AFM-based single molecule force spectroscopy, mid-infrared nanoscopy methods of scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) and near-field infrared spectroscopy (nano-FTIR), I will unravel the conformation and orientation of the individual polymer chains constituting the polymer brush films and directly determine the distribution of bifunctional peptides with a nanoscale resolution. Further progress toward measurements under controlled temperature, humidity, or in liquids will give physicochemical insight into bioactivity of the polymer brushes architectures.
Keywords: biomimmetics, biofunctional polymer brushes, surface-initiated polymerizations, sSNOM, nanoFTIR, nanoscopy
Acknowledgments
Financial support from Czech Grant Foundation (grant No. GA22-02836S) is gratefully acknowledged. The presented research was carried out under the project National Institute for Cancer Research (Programme EXCELES, ID Project No. LX22NPO5102) – funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU.
Bio
Dr. Ognen Pop-Georgievski earned his engineering degree from the Faculty of Technology and Metalurgy, University of Ss Cyril and Methodius, Macedonia. He graduated at the chair of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University and Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences (IMC, CAS), Czech Republic.
His early scientific work focused on the preparation and characterization of ultra-thin polymer films utilizing different physical techniques. The characterization approach utilizing various linear and non-linear spectroscopies elucidated in details the physical characteristics and the mechanisms responsible for the unique behavior of different polymer layers. A particular achievement of these works was the development of universal surface modification approaches which could be used to completely cancel out the non-specific interactions of solid surfaces when contacted with biological media. This was not only a radically new approach for surface modification, but the accumulated knowledge offered a benefit in fields such as biomedicine, sensing, biotechnology and tissue engineering.
From 2015, Ognen was committed on establishing the Department of Chemistry and Physics of Surfaces and Interfaces, (IMC, CAS), focused on unraveling various phenomena taking place at the interface between polymers and biological fluids/living tissues. Recently, his research focuses on the spectroscopic characterization on the nanoscale level utilizing advanced spectroscopic techniques such as nanoFTIR, scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy and AFM-based single molecule force spectroscopy.
His research efforts have resulted in more than 80 scientific manuscripts.
Orcid ID: 0000-0001-7938-9271
ResearcherID: G-3498-2014
ScopusID: 50262665200