Spiropyran-based photoswitchable acrylic nanofibers: A stimuli-responsive substrate for light controlled C6 glioma cells attachment/detachment.

Reversible and remote cell manipulation with high spatiotemporal precision is now a highly attractive subject in various biological applications such as tissue engineering and cell-matrix interaction. Herein, photoresponsive poly(methyl methacrylate-co-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate-co-spiropyran ethyl acrylate) terpolymer (MHSP) was prepared using emulsion polymerization and the corresponding nanofibers (MHSP@NF) and film (MHSP@F) were prepared using electrospinning and drop-casting techniques, respectively. Structure of MHSP@NF with cylindrical cross-section and uniform diameter size of 169 nm were characterized by H-NMR and SEM analyses. Time-dependent UV-vis spectra of the prepared acrylic nanofibers and films demonstrated maximum forward photoisomerization after 3- and 8-min UV irradiation at 365 nm together with a 96° and 5° decrement in their surface water contact angles, respectively. High photoresponsivity of the nanofibers was attributed to their extensive surface area which exposes more spiropyran groups to UV light. MHSP@F and MHSP@NF with chemically-attached spiropyran groups demonstrated significant biocompatibility with negligible toxicity toward C6 glioma cancer cells up to 5 days. However, MH/SP@NF with doped SPOH exhibited a sudden decrease in cell viability relating to the migration and leakage of SPOH molecules. Photoreversible cell adhesion results showed a dramatic and switchable C6 cells attachment/detachment upon alternating UV and visible lights irradiations for MHSP@NF sample, while this was not observed for the similar film. These indicate potentiality of MHSP@NF as a promising substrate for dynamic switching of biomolecules and cell sheet engineering.