Amphiphilic silicones to reduce the absorption of small hydrophobic molecules. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Silicones (i.e. crosslinked poly(dimethylsiloxane), PDMS) are commonly used material for microfluidic device fabrication. Nonetheless, due to the uncontrollable absorption of small hydrophobic molecules (<1kDa) into the bulk, its applicability to cell-based drug assays and sensing applications has been limited. Here, we demonstrate the use of substrates made of silicones bulk modified with a poly(ethylene oxide) silane amphiphile (PEO-SA) to reduce hydrophobic small molecule sequestration for cell-based assays. Modified silicone substrates were generated with concentrations of 2wt.%, 9wt.% and, 14wt.% PEO-SA. Incorporation of PEO-SA into the silicone bulk was assessed by FTIR analysis in addition to water contact angle analysis to evaluate surface hydrophobicity. Cell toxicity, absorption of small hydrophobic drugs, and cell response to hydrophobic molecules were also evaluated. Results showed that the incorporation of the PEO-SA into the silicone led to a reduction in water contact angle from 114 to as low as 16 that was stable for at least three months. The modified silicones showed viability values above 85% for NIH-3T3, MCF7, MDA-MB-468, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. A drug response assay using tamoxifen and the MCF7 cell line showed full recovery of cell toxicity response when exposed to PDMS modified with 9wt.% or 14wt.% PEO-SA compared to tissue culture plastic. Therefore, our study supports the use of PEO-SA at concentrations of 9wt.% or higher for enhanced surface wettability and reduced absorption of small hydrophobic molecules in PDMS-based platforms.

published proceedings

  • Acta Biomater

author list (cited authors)

  • Quiones-Prez, M., Cieza, R. J., Ngo, B., Grunlan, M. A., & Domenech, M.

citation count

  • 4

complete list of authors

  • Quiñones-Pérez, Manuel||Cieza, Ruben J||Ngo, Bryan Khai D||Grunlan, Melissa A||Domenech, Maribella

publication date

  • February 2021