Chemical modification of promote animal cell adhesion on surfaces

A cell culture substrate which promotes cell adhesion and the formation of focal contacts is disclosed. Polymer, ceramic and glass surfaces may be used. The surfaces are derivatized with peptides having less than 12 amino acid residues and containing one of the following sequences of amino acids: GRGD, GYIGSR, GREDV. The peptides are covalently attached to the surface throu The U.S. Government may have rights in the present invention as relevant developmental work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant CBT-881020268, and National Institutes of Health Grant HL-39714.