Antifouling polymer layers containing extracellular matrix-derived peptide motifs offer promising new options for biomimetic surface engineering. In this contribution, we report the design of antifouling vascular grafts bearing biofunctional peptide motifs for tissue regeneration applications based on hierarchical polymer brushes. Hierarchical diblock poly(methyl ether oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate-block-glycidyl methacrylate) brushes bearing azide groups (poly(MeOEGMA-block-GMA-N3)) were grown by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) and functionalized with biomimetic RGD peptide sequences. Varying the conditions of copper-catalyzed alkyne-azide "click" reaction allowed for the immobilization of RGD peptides in a wide surface concentration range. The synthesized hierarchical polymer brushes bearing peptide motifs were characterized in detail using various surface sensitive physicochemical methods. The hierarchical brushes presenting the RGD sequences provided excellent cell adhesion properties and at the same time remained resistant to fouling from blood plasma. The synthesis of anti-fouling hierarchical brushes bearing 1.2 × 103 nmol/cm2 RGD biomimetic sequences has been adapted for the surface modification of commercially available grafts of woven polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers. The fiber mesh was endowed with polymerization initiator groups via aminolysis and acylation reactions optimized for the material. The obtained bioactive antifouling vascular grafts promoted the specific adhesion and growth of endothelial cells, thus providing a potential avenue for endothelialization of artificial conduits.

• Keywords
• RGD peptide, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, biomimetic surface, hierarchical bioactive polymer brushes, vascular graft, “click”-chemistry,
• MeSH
• Adsorption MeSH
• Amino Acid Motifs MeSH
• Azides chemistry   MeSH
• Coated Materials, Biocompatible * MeSH
• Biomimetic Materials * MeSH
• Cell Adhesion MeSH
• Cell Division MeSH
• Endothelium, Vascular physiology   MeSH
• Blood Vessel Prosthesis * MeSH
• Click Chemistry MeSH
• Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells MeSH
• Immobilized Proteins MeSH
• Silicon MeSH
• Plasma MeSH
• Blood Proteins MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Oligopeptides chemistry   MeSH
• Polyethylene Terephthalates chemistry   MeSH
• Polymerization * MeSH
• Surface Properties MeSH
• Guided Tissue Regeneration instrumentation   MeSH
• Glass MeSH
• Materials Testing MeSH
• Thrombosis prevention & control   MeSH
• Gold MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Comparative Study MeSH
• Names of Substances
• arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid MeSH Browser
• Azides MeSH
• Coated Materials, Biocompatible * MeSH
• Immobilized Proteins MeSH
• Silicon MeSH
• Blood Proteins MeSH
• Oligopeptides MeSH
• Polyethylene Terephthalates MeSH
• Gold MeSH