A Facile Method for Preparing Temperature‐Responsive Cell Culture Surfaces by Using a Thioxanthone Photoinitiator Immobilized on a Polystyrene Surface

Abstract We developed a new facile method for the preparation of temperature‐responsive cell culture surfaces (TRCS) by photo‐polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide using a surface‐immobilized photoinitiator. In the first step, thioxanthone groups, which served as the photoinitiator, were directly formed on polystyrene culture dish surfaces (TX‐PSt). Second, poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) was grafted onto the TX‐PSt surfaces (PIPAAm‐TX‐PSt) by using the visible light or light‐emitting diode irradiation‐induced surface‐initiated polymerization method. By optimizing the amount of grafted PIPAAm, the resulting PIPAAm‐TX‐PSt successfully exhibited characteristics of a TRCS. In addition, a striped micropatterned polyacrylamide area was successively formed on the photoirradiated PIPAAm‐TX‐PSt surface by using a chromium photomask. These results show that temperature‐responsive cell culture surfaces can be prepared through this new method.