Effect of ligand orientation on hepatocyte attachment onto the poly(N-p-vinylbenzyl-o-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-D-gluconamide) as a model ligand of asialoglycoprotein

The orientation effect of galactose ligand on hepatocyte attachment was investigated. Poly(N-p-vinylbenzyl-o-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-D-gluconamide)(PVLA), a beta-galactose-carrying styrene homopolymer, was used as a model ligand for the asialoglycoprotein receptors on hepatocytes. PVLA was transferred onto the poly(gamma-benzyl L-glutamate) (PBLG) or PBLG/poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)PBLG Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films as the monolayer level. The dichroic fluorescence values of the confocal microscope indicated that the PVLA transferred onto the LB films was located with a preferential orientation of its molecular axes with regard to the direction of the alpha-helix of polypeptide. Hepatocyte recognized well-oriented galactose moieties of the surface of PVLA through asialoglycoprotein receptors.