Stable modification of poly(lactic acid) surface with neurite outgrowth-promoting peptides via hydrophobic collagen-like sequence

Surface modification of poly(dl-lactic acid) (PLA) scaffolds has been performed using a biofunctional small peptide composed of collagen-like repetitive sequence and laminin-derived sequence (AG73-G3-(PPG)5) via hydrophobic interaction. The results of surface analysis suggest that AG73-G3-(PPG)5 can be stably adsorbed onto PLA films via hydrophobic interaction at the (PPG)5 region, and form an extracellular matrix-like layer composed of both structural and biosignalling sequences. In addition, neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells was observed on the AG73-G3-(PPG)5-adsorbed PLA film. These results indicate that AG73-G3-(PPG)5 very effectively enhances neurite outgrowth activity on PLA films. The hydrophobic adsorption of collagen-like peptide bound to biosignalling molecules may be widely applied as a surface modifier of PLA films for tissue engineering.