Bioinspired from Salivary Acquired Pellicle: A Multifunctional Coating for Biominerals

Manipulation of the surface properties of biominerals is very important for their biomedical applications. However, the straightforward preparation of a multifunctional and stable coating on biominerals remains a challenge. Herein we report a rapid and universal method for the preparation of multifunctional coatings on various biominerals using a salivary acquired pellicle (SAP) inspired dendrimer. The dendrimer has a highly branched structure and an external surface modified with DDDEEKC peptide. It mimics the adsorption function of statherin, which is one of the main components of SAP, to endow the coating with a universal capability for adhesion on various biominerals such as hydroxyapatite, tertiary calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, pearls, enamel, dentin, and bone. The coating can be formed by a simple dip-coating method on the surface of biominerals within 10 min, and is stable for more than 1 month. The coating can also provide a general platform for secondary modifications. For example, we use pregrafting or postgrafting methods to introduce functional molecules such as fluorescein isothiocyanate, heptadecafluoroundecanoyl chloride, and collagen to the surface of the coatings, thus these biomineral surfaces can be applied for different applications such as for protein crystallization by forming superhydrophobic surface, or promoting cell adhesion and proliferation by immobilizing collagen.