Adhesion of human leukocytes on mixtures of hydroxyl- and methyl-terminated self-assembled monolayers: effect of blood protein adsorption.

The adhesion of human leukocytes to nanostructured surfaces with different chemical properties and the effect of protein adsorption were investigated. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) prepared with mixtures of methyl- and hydroxyl-terminated alkanethiols in different percentages on gold were used. The surfaces were pre-immersed in distinct protein solutions (human serum albumin, human fibrinogen, and autologous plasma). Adherent leukocytes were analyzed both by light and SEM. SAMs submitted to pre-immersion in plasma presented higher numbers of adherent leukocytes in the pure OH-terminated SAM, whereas methyl-terminated surfaces accounted for the lowest number of adherent cells. We observed a general increase in the number of adherent human leukocytes as the percentage of OH groups on the surface of the SAMs increased for all the pre-immersion conditions investigated. The number of adherent human leukocytes is highly influenced by the pre-immersion conditions used, and this observation is particularly relevant in the case of the methyl-terminated SAMs. The results obtained demonstrate that surface chemistry has a major influence in leukocyte adhesion to biomaterials, and that pre-immersion in protein solutions has a determinant effect in leukocyte adhesion.