Interaction between acrylic substrates and RAD16-I peptide in its self-assembling

Self-assembling peptides (SAP) are widely used as scaffolds themselves, and recently as fillers of microporous scaffolds, where the former provides a cell-friendly nanoenvironment and the latter improves its mechanical properties. The characterization of the interaction between these short peptides and the scaffold material is crucial to assess the potential of such a combined system. In this work, the interaction between poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) and 90/10 ethyl acrylate-acrylic acid copolymer P(EAcoAAc) with the SAP RAD16-I has been followed using a bidimensional simplified model. By means of the techniques of choice (congo red staining, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle measurements) the interaction and self-assembly of the peptide has proven to be very sensitive to the wettability and electronegativity of the polymeric substrate.