Thermoresponsive poly[tri(ethylene glycol) monoethyl ether methacrylate]-peptide surfaces obtained by radiation grafting-synthesis and characterisation

[Display omitted] •Thermoresponsive polymer layers with cell adhesion peptide were obtained.•The radiation grafting for their preparation was demonstrated.•The amount of peptide attached to the surface can be easily controlled.•Changes in the surface features confirmed successful surface modification.•Polymer-peptide surfaces may be applied as scaffolds in cell sheet engineering. This report demonstrates the feasibility of radiation grafting for the preparation of polymer layers functionalised with short peptide ligands which promote cell adhesion. Thermoresponsive poly [tri(ethylene glycol) monoethyl ether methacrylate] (PTEGMA) layers were synthesised on a polypropylene substrate by post-irradiation grafting. A cell adhesion moiety, the CF-IKVAVK peptide modified with a methacrylamide function and a fluorescent label were introduced to the surface during the polymerisation process. The amount of CF-IKVAVK was easily controlled by changing its concentration in the reaction mixture. The changes in the surface composition, morphology, philicity and thickness at each step of the polypropylene functionalisation confirmed that the surface modification procedures were successful. The increase in environmental temperature above the cloud point temperature of PTEGMA caused a decrease in surface philicity. The obtained PTEGMA and PTEGMA-peptide surfaces above TCP were tested as scaffolds for fibroblast sheet culture and temperature induced detachment.