Collagen-immobilized polyimide membranes for retinal pigment epithelial cell adherence and proliferation

Degenerative retinal diseases are a leading cause of visual loss and irreversible blindness, particularly in the developed world. Retinal pigment cell (RPE) transplantation is nowadays considered the most promising therapeutic approach for certain retinal diseases, and the presence of a supportive scaffold has been considered essential to ensure the success of the implant. In this work, collagen IV was covalently immobilized to the surface of polyimide membranes, with the purpose of developing scaffold materials for RPE cell culture. The covalent modification method involved four steps: argon-plasma treatment, acrylic acid graft polymerization, surface activation, and finally immobilization of collagen type IV. Collagen-modified membranes did not become more rough but became significantly more hydrophilic than the unmodified and dip-coated controls. ARPE-19 cell morphology and attachment were studied by immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscopy. Covalently modified surfaces showed cell attachment and cell properties comparable to the uncoated and dip-coated controls. This work demonstrated the potential of collagen IV-immobilized polyimide membranes as substrates for the growth of ARPE-19 cells. *Corresponding author: Maria Teresa Calejo, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, BioMediTech Institute, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland E-mail: [email protected]