MODIFIED SURFACES FOR CHEMICALLY DEFINED CELL CULTURE

THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL PLASTICS ON WHICH TO CULTURE CELLS IN SERUM-FREE MEDIA. CURRENTLY, BIOLOGICAL ATTACHMENT AIDS MUST BE USED FOR ANCHORAGE-DEPENDENT CELLS TO ATTACH AND GROW NORMALLY INTHE ABSENCE OF SERUM. LOW-TEMPERATURE GAS PLASMA TECHNIQUES WILL BE EMPLOYED TO MODIFY THE SURFACES OF POLYSTYRENE CULTUREWARE. SUCCESS WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE ABILITY OF THE MODIFIED SURFACES TO FOSTER ATTACHMENT AND GROWTH OF ANCHORAGE-DEPENDENT CELLSIN CHEMICALLY DEFINED MEDIA. IN ADDITION, A SECONDARY GOAL WOULD BE ACHIEVED IF A SURFACE WAS DEVELOPED THAT ENHANCED CELL ATTACHMENT AND GROWTH IN VERY LOW SERUM CONCENTRATIONS. TWO REPRESENTATIVE CELL TYPES WILL BE USED: PRIMARY CHICK EMBRYO FIBROBLASTS AND CHINESE HAMSTER OVARY CELLS. ALL CELLS WILL BE CULTURED IN THEIR RECOMMENDED MEDIUM WITH NORMAL SERUM SUPPLEMENTS AS A CONTROL, IN A MEDIUM WITH LOW SERUM, AND IN A NUMBER OF CHEMICALLY DEFINED MEDIA. COMPARISONS OF ATTACHMENT AND GROWTH ON PLASMA-TREATED SURFACES AND ON COLLAGEN WILL BE MADE FOR ALL CULTURE CONDTIONS.