Fabrication of Patterned Hydrogel Interfaces: Exploiting the Maleimide Group as a Dual Purpose Handle for Cross-Linking and Bioconjugation

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Abstract
Functional hydrogels that can be obtained through facile fabrication procedures and subsequently modified using straightforward reagent-free methods are indispensable materials for biomedical applications such as sensing and diagnostics. Herein, a novel hydrogel platform is obtained using polymeric precursors containing maleimide functional group as side chain. The maleimide groups play a dual role in fabrication of functional hydrogels. They enable photochemical crosslinking of the polymers to yield bulk and patterned hydrogels. Moreover, the maleimide group can be used as a handle for efficient functionalization using the thiol-maleimide conjugation and Diels-Alder cycloaddition click reactions. Obtained hydrogels are characterized in terms of their morphology, water uptake capacity and functionalization. Micropatterned hydrogels are obtained under UV-irradiation using a photomask to obtain reactive micropatterns, which undergo facile functionalization upon treatment with thiol-containing functional molecules such as fluorescent dyes and bioactive ligands. The maleimide group also undergoes conjugation through the Diels-Alder reaction, where the attached molecule can be released through thermal treatment via the retro Diels-Alder reaction. The anti-biofouling nature of these hydrogel micropatterns enables efficient ligand directed biomolecular immobilization, as demonstrated by attachment of streptavidin coated quantum dots.
Funding Information
  • The Presidency of Republic of Turkey Directorate of Strategy and Budget (2009K120520 and 2012K120480.)
  • Bogazici University Research Fund (11B05D7)

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