Patterned growth of vascular cells on chemically heterogeneous surfaces modified with heparin-mimicking polymers

The extracellular matrix (ECM) can influence cell behavior due to its chemical composition and surface morphology. Based on this concept, we modified different regions of a patterned Au film substrate with poly(oligo (ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (pOEGMA) and heparin-like polymer poly(sodium 4-vinyl-benzenesulfonate) (pSS) to mimic ECM, resulting in a heterogeneous distribution of both polymers on the substrate. In this work, a pSS circle with a pOEGMA peripheral (PS-O)-patterned surface and a pOEGMA circle with a pSS peripheral (PO-S)-patterned surface were prepared. When pOEGMA and pSS were heterogeneously distributed on the same surface, both human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human umbilical vein smooth muscle cells (HUVSMCs) tended to grow in the pSS-modified region and avoided the pOEGMA-modified region, showing patterned growth. With the prolongation of cell culture time on the surface, the guidance effect on both types of cells became more pronounced. Compared with the PO-S surface, the PS-O surface was significantly more conducive to the selective growth of HUVECs against HUVSMCs, as indicated by the cell density ratio, average spreading area and viability of both types of cells. The viability of HUVECs was higher than that of HUVSMCs on heterogeneously patterned surfaces, suggesting that heterogeneous patterning of heparin-mimicking polymers may facilitate vascular cell selectivity and maintain HUVEC viability. The design of heterogeneous patterning of heparin-mimicking polymers on material surfaces enriches the potential of further exploring the influence of heparin-mimicking polymers on cell-material interactions.