Cell behaviour on polymer surfaces grafted with non-ionic and ionic monomers

Abstract

Following exposure to corona discharge, a polyethylene film was graft polymerized with different water-soluble monomers such as acrylamide (non-ionic), acrylic acid (anionic), 2-acrylamide-2-methyl propane sulphonic acid (anionic), styrene sulphonic acid sodium salt (anionic) and N, N-dimethylaminopropyl acrylamide (cationic). Attachment and proliferation of HeLa S3 cells were studied for grafted surfaces with different ζ potentials and contact angles. The polyethylene surface graft polymerized with styrene sulphonic acid sodium salt exhibited high cell attachment and protein adsorption, whereas the cells did not adhere to the 2-acrylamide-2-methyl propane sulphonic acid graft-polymerized surface, although both surfaces had high negative ζ potentials. Graft polymerization of acrylamide reduced the ζ potential of surface close to zero and rejected the cell attachment. The polyethylene surface became highly cell-adhesive through graft polymerization of the cationic N, N-dimethylaminopropyl acrylamide monomer, but too much grafting killed the attaching cells. Once the cells attached to a surface without being killed, they could proliferate at the same growth rate, whatever their surface ζ potential.