Architecture of Sulfonate Polymer Brushes and their Complex with BMP-2

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play an important role in tissue repair, making their incorporation into biomaterials scaffolds an important scientific challenge. Heparin facilitates BMP capture and retention but suffers from instability. Our recent study suggests biomimetic poly(sulfopropyl methacrylate) (PSPMA) and poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) brushes as stable BMP anchors. Characterisation via surface plasmon resonance and quartz crystal microbalance showed PSPMA's strong affinity for BMP2, impacting matrix deposition by fibroblasts. However, the brush morphology influences the BMP adsorption. Neutron reflectometry is the most sensitive charaterisation methodology to provide insights into PSPMA and PSS brush morphology, and BMP2 adsorption mechanisms, guiding scaffold engineering for regenerative medicine.