Role of Ninth Type-III Domain of Fibronectin in the Mediation of Cell-Binding Domain Adsorption on Surfaces with Different Chemistries

The orientation and conformation of adhesive proteins after adsorption play a central role in cell-binding bioactivity. Fibronectin (Fn) holds two peptide sequences that favor cell adhesion: the Arg–Gly–Asp (RGD) loop on the tenth type-III domain (Fn-III10) and the Pro–His–Ser–Arg–Asn (PHSRN) synergy site on the ninth type-III domain (Fn-III9). Herein, adsorption of Fn fragments (Fn-III10 and Fn-III9–10) on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) carrying various functional groups (−COOH, −NH2, −CH3, and −OH) was investigated by the Monte Carlo method and molecular dynamics simulation in order to understand its mediation effect on cell adhesion. The results demonstrated that Fn-III9 could enhance the stiffness of the Fn molecule and further fix the adsorption orientation. The RGD site of the Fn fragment appeared to be deactivated on hydrophobic surfaces (CH3-SAM) because of the binding of adjacent nonpolar residues on surfaces, whereas charged surfaces (COOH-SAM and NH2-SAM) and hydrophilic surfaces (OH-SAM) were conducive to the formation of cell-binding-favorable orientation for Fn fragments. The cell adhesion capability of Fn fragments was highly improved on positively charged surfaces (NH2-SAM) and hydrophilic surfaces because of the advantageous steric structure and orientation of both RGD and PHSRN sites. This work provides an insight into the interplay at the atomic scale between protein adsorption and surface chemistry for designing biologically responsive substrate surfaces.