Balčiunas, E. and Dreiže, N. and Grubliauskaite, M. and Urnikyte, S. and Šimoliunas, E. and Bukelskiene, V. and Valius, M. and Baldock, S.J. and Hardy, J.G. and Baltriukiene, D. (2019) Biocompatibility investigation of hybrid organometallic polymers for sub-micron 3D printing via laser two-photon polymerisation. Materials, 12 (23). ISSN 1996-1944
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Hybrid organometallic polymers are a class of functional materials which can be used to produce structures with sub-micron features via laser two-photon polymerisation. Previous studies demonstrated the relative biocompatibility of Al and Zr containing hybrid organometallic polymers in vitro. However, a deeper understanding of their effects on intracellular processes is needed if a tissue engineering strategy based on these materials is to be envisioned. Herein, primary rat myogenic cells were cultured on spin-coated Al and Zr containing polymer surfaces to investigate how each material affects the viability, adhesion strength, adhesion-associated protein expression, rate of cellular metabolism and collagen secretion. We found that the investigated surfaces supported cellular growth to full confluency. A subsequent MTT assay showed that glass and Zr surfaces led to higher rates of metabolism than did the Al surfaces. A viability assay revealed that all surfaces supported comparable levels of cell viability. Cellular adhesion strength assessment showed an insignificantly stronger relative adhesion after 4 h of culture than after 24 h. The largest amount of collagen was secreted by cells grown on the Al-containing surface. In conclusion, the materials were found to be biocompatible in vitro and have potential for bioengineering applications.