Effect of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) surface with different wettability on fibroblast behavior

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is a microbial storage polymer with biodegradable properties. In order to improve the cell compatibility of PHBV surfaces, the physicochemical treatments have been demonstrated. In this study, physical method was corona discharge treatment and chemical method was chloric acid mixture solution treatment. The physicochemically treated PHBV film surfaces were characterized by the measurement of water contact angle, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The water contact angle of the physicochemically treated PHBV surfaces decreased from 75 to 30-40 degree, increased hydrophilicity, due to the introduction of oxygen-based functional group onto the PHBV backbone chain. The mouse NIH/3T3 fibroblasts cultured onto the physicochemically treated PHBV film surfaces with different wettability. The effect of the PHBV surface with different wettability was determined by SEM as counts of cell number and [H-3]thymidine incorporation as measures of cell proliferation. As the surface wettability increased, the number of the cell adhered and proliferated on the surface was increased. The result seems closely related with the serum protein adsorption on the physicochemically treated PHBV surface. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the surface wettability of biodegradable polymer as the PHBV plays an important role for cell adhesion and proliferation behavior for biomedical application.