ELECTROANALYTICAL AND BIOCOMPATIBILITY STUDIES ON MICROFABRICATED ARRAY SENSORS

pH, potassium and calcium ion-selective membranes based on neutral ionophores TDDA, valinomycin and ETH-1001, respectively and immobilized in high molecular weight (HMW) and carboxylated poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC-COOH) as well as in aliphatic polyurethane (Tecoflex) matrices with normal and reduced amounts of plasticizers were investigated with respect of their general analytical properties, biocompatibility and cellular responses. The analytical performance of the PVC-COOH based potassium electrodes was not effected by reducing the plasticizer content from 66% (w/w) to 33% (w/w) while that of pH electrodes was significantly deteriorated at the lower plasticizer level. High molecular weight PVC and Tecoflex membranes with low plasticizer content induce less inflammatory response compared to membranes cast with high plasticizer concentrations or PVC-COOH as matrix. o-NPOE plasticized membranes are correlated with an increased acute, but a decreased chronic inflammatory response, when compared to membranes cast with DOS as plasticizer.