Chemistry and engineering of brush type polymers: Perspective towards tissue engineering

Abstract

In tissue engineering, it is imperative to control the behaviour of cells/stem cells, such as adhesion, proliferation, propagation, motility, and differentiation for tissue regeneration. Surfaces that allow cells to behave in this way are critical as support materials in tissue engineering. Among these surfaces, brush-type polymers have an important potential for tissue engineering and biomedical applications. Brush structure and length, end groups, bonding densities, hydrophilicity, surface energy, structural flexibility, thermal stability, surface chemical reactivity, rheological and tribological properties, electron and energy transfer ability, cell binding and absorption abilities for various biological molecules of brush-type polymers were increased its importance in tissue engineering applications. In addition, thanks to these functional properties and adjustable surface properties, brush type polymers are used in different high-tech applications such as electronics, sensors, anti-fouling, catalysis, purification and energy etc. This review comprehensively highlights the use of brush-type polymers in tissue engineering applications. Considering the superior properties of brush-type polymer structures, it is believed that in the future, it will be an effective tool in structure designs containing many different biomolecules (enzymes, proteins, etc.) in the field of tissue engineering.