| abstract |
The present invention describes a method in which the surface of a polymer is coated with diamond-like carbon (DLC) and used as a carrier for neural crest-derived cells, preferably neurons that form dendrites. Biopolymers coated with DLC include biodegradable polymers and other transplantable biopolymers, such as brain, eye, central and terminal nervous system, lung, liver, spleen, kidney and bone and cartilage Serves as a carrier system for transplanting cells into various body parts. The biopolymer can be in sheet or particulate form and can embed or incorporate attachment or growth promoting substances that promote and support nerve cell attachment and growth during its synthesis. This coating method can also enhance other coating materials such as extracellular matrix (ECM) secreted from cultured bovine corneal endothelial cells and adherent molecules such as fibronectin, laminin and RGDS. The coating process can be performed in a sequential process, in which case a DLC layer is overlaid on the ECM coating surface or the adhesion factor coating surface. |