EFFECT OF SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYHYDROXYALKANOATES (PHAs) ON METABOLIC ACTIVITIES AND MORPHOLOGY OF HUMAN SCHWANN CELLS-LIKE (hSCs-LIKE)

Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) is a newer family of biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. The objective of this study is to investigate the behaviors of human Schwann cells-like (hSCs-like) on various PHA films. The surface characteristics of PHA films were varied by the content of 3-hydroxyvalerate (HV) or 3-hydroxyhexanoate (HHx) and by the film preparation methods such as compression-molding and solvent-casting. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and poly(L-lysine) (PLL) were further applied on to improve the growth of hSCs-like on PHA membranes. The hSCs-like isolated from human body (MATERIALS AND METHODS) would have strong metabolic activities and produce many extracellular matrix (ECM). When HV content increased, there was a reduction in the crystallinity and the hydrophoicity of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) membranes. Despite that these different surface characteristics did not show significant effect on the metabolic activities of hSCs-like, these would affect adhering HA. Hyaluronic acid (HA)-coated PHA membranes could improve the metabolic activities and decrease the death ratio of hSCs-like. However, the condition of PLL coating has no obvious influence on the activities of hSCs.