Cell Adhesion and Migration on Thickness Gradient Bilayer Polymer Brush Surfaces: Effects of Properties of Polymeric Materials of the Underlayer.

In the field of tissue engineering and biomaterials, controlling the surface properties and mechanical properties of scaffold materials is crucial and has attracted much attention. Here, two types of bilayer polymer brushes composed of a hydrophilic underlying layer and a cationic surface layer [made of poly(2-aminoethyl methacrylate)] with a thickness gradient were prepared by surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization. To investigate the influence of the stiffness as a mechanical property of the polymer brush on cell behavior, the underlayer was prepared from either 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine or oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate, with the bilayers designated as gradient poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine)-