Advances in the Development of Supramolecular Polymeric Biomaterials
Regenerative medicine applications aim to recreate or repair the living functional environment of the human body. Many biomaterials that are designed and synthesized in recent years are inspired by the extracellular matrix (ECM) that is responsible for mechanical, structural, and biochemical support to cells. In order to synthetically mimic the material properties of the ECM, it is essential to introduce specific bioactive cues to guide the body to regenerate. Upon implantation of a material, inevitably the material surface comes into contact with the in vivo environment and, therefore, it is of utmost importance that the material surface is functionalized in a desirable fashion. We propose that supramolecular materials that are composed of macromers and oligomers which are held together via noncovalent interactions are perfectly suitable to meet requirements to closely mimic the ECM in a synthetic fashion. In this account, we disclose recent strategies that have been reported to generate bioactive supramolecular materials as well as different strategies to functionalize the surface of these materials to introduce desirable characteristics. Various solid supramolecular polymeric materials and respective characterization strategies of the material surfaces are discussed.