Abstract
In this study, we present the surface patterning of a biopolymer poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) for fibroblast growth enhancement. The patterning is based on a self-organized pore arrangement directly fabricated from a ternary system of a solvent-nonsolvent biopolymer. We successfully created a porous honeycomb-like pattern (HCP) on a thermally resistant polymer—fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP). An important preparation step for HCP is activation of the substrate in Ar plasma discharge. The polymer activation leads to changes in the surface chemistry, which corresponds to an increase in the substrate surface wettability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the PLLA concentration in solution on the surface morphology, roughness, wettability, and chemistry, and subsequently, also on fibroblast proliferation. We confirmed that the amount of PLLA in solution significantly affects the material surface properties. The pore size of the prepared layers, the surface wettability, and the surface oxygen content increased with an increasing amount of biopolymer in the coating solution. The optimal amount was 1 g of PLLA, which resulted in the highest number of cells after 6 days from seeding; however, all three biopolymer concentrations exhibited significantly better results compared to pristine FEP. The cytocompatibility tests showed that the HCP promoted the attachment of cell filopodia to the underlying substrate and, thus, significantly improved the cell–material interactions. We prepared a honeycomb biodegradable support for enhanced cell growth, so the surface properties of perfluoroethylenepropylene were significantly enhanced.
Highlights
The surface morphology and roughness of materials significantly influence cellular behavior in applications, including cell seeding [1]
The application of the PLLA layer had a positive effect on the surface properties of the substrate, and the number of cells was significantly increased on the biopolymer microstructure compared to pristine fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)
The polymer solution with a higher amount of PLLA led to a layer with the largest pores and the highest surface wettability corresponding to the highest oxygen content
Summary
The surface morphology and roughness of materials significantly influence cellular behavior in applications, including cell seeding [1]. The cells do not prefer extremes, i.e., neither a perfectly smooth surface, nor a too rough surface. Many scientific groups have demonstrated that a patterned surface of polymer substrates provides a more attractive environment for cells than a flat surface, because it better mimics the in vivo conditions [2,3]. The advantage of a structured surface is the spatial control of cell growth. It is possible to control the final properties of prepared structures and subsequent cellular behavior by varying the parameters during material/surface preparation [4]. One of the possibilities is the formation of porous films with various pore shapes. A typical example of a porous surface inspired by nature is the formation of hexagonal units, which is called
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