Modification of oligo(poly(ethylene glycol) fumarate) macromer with a GRGD peptide for the preparation of functionalized polymer networks.

A novel macromer, oligo(poly(ethylene glycol) fumarate) (OPF), was synthesized by the reaction between poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) of molecular weight 1000 (PEG 1.0K) and fumaryl chloride. The oligo(PEG fumarate) (OPF 1.0K) was modified with a peptide known to modulate cellular functions, Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp (GRGD), after being activated with 4-nitrophenyl chloroformate (NPC). The determined yield of the GRGD modification in 0.1 M sodium bicarbonate buffer of pH 8.3 was 83% as determined by NMR measurements. The OPF 1.0K and the OPF 1.0K modified with GRGD were cross-linked with an unsaturated biodegradable polyester, poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF), by photopolymerization. The cross-linked PPF was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. The equilibrium contact angle of water on the cross-linked PPF surface decreased with the incorporation of OPF 1.0K and the OPF 1.0K modified with GRGD. The results suggest that the OPF macromer can be used for the preparation of functionalized networks incorporating cell adhesion specific sequences.