{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T03:05:06Z","timestamp":1787886306662,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,28]],"date-time":"2023-01-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1674864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Padova","award":["064984"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["064984"]}]},{"name":"University of Padova","award":["DOR Dettin 2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DOR Dettin 2021"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biomolecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a thermoplastic polymer that has been recently employed for bone tissue engineering as a result of its biocompatibility and mechanical properties being comparable to human bone. PEEK, however, is a bio-inert material and, when implanted, does not interact with the host tissues, resulting in poor integration. In this work, the surfaces of 3D-printed PEEK disks were functionalized with: (i) an adhesive peptide reproducing [351\u2013359] h-Vitronectin sequence (HVP) and (ii) HVP retro-inverted dimer (D2HVP), that combines the bioactivity of the native sequence (HVP) with the stability toward proteolytic degradation. Both sequences were designed to be anchored to the polymer surface through specific covalent bonds via oxime chemistry. All functionalized PEEK samples were characterized by Water Contact Angle (WCA) measurements, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to confirm the peptide enrichment. The biological results showed that both peptides were able to increase cell proliferation at 3 and 21 days. D2HVP functionalized PEEK resulted in an enhanced proliferation across all time points investigated with higher calcium deposition and more elongated cell morphology.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biom13020246","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,30]],"date-time":"2023-01-30T04:31:27Z","timestamp":1675053087000},"page":"246","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Bioactive PEEK: Surface Enrichment of Vitronectin-Derived Adhesive Peptides"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3034-4771","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leonardo","family":"Cassari","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8113-0346","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annj","family":"Zamuner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Grazia M. L.","family":"Messina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory for Molecular Surface and Nanotechnology (LAMSUN), Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania and CSGI, Viale A. Doria, 6, 95125 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martina","family":"Marsotto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Via della Vasca Navale 79, 00146 Roma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8241-6648","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hongyi","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Gonnella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King\u2019s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7122-7980","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Trevor","family":"Coward","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King\u2019s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4590-0865","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chiara","family":"Battocchio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Via della Vasca Navale 79, 00146 Roma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jie","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6478-3759","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanna","family":"Iucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Science, Roma Tre University, Via della Vasca Navale 79, 00146 Roma, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Marletta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory for Molecular Surface and Nanotechnology (LAMSUN), Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania and CSGI, Viale A. Doria, 6, 95125 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucy","family":"Di Silvio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King\u2019s College London, London SE1 9RT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6823-3375","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Monica","family":"Dettin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1166\/jom.2014.1030","article-title":"Polymer Ceramic Composite Materials for Orthopedic Applications\u2014Relevance and Need for Mechanical Match and Bone Regeneration","volume":"2","author":"Victor","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. 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