A Study on Proliferation and Behavior of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells on Purified Alginate Films

Background and Objectives: Alginate, an anionic polysaccharide distributed widely in the cell walls of brown algae, is used in biomedical applications. However, alginate's performance as a biomaterial, has limited by its several contamination such as endotoxins, proteins and polyphenols. Methods and Results: To overcome this problem, we have developed using modified Korbutt method for alginate purification. After purification, we made alginate films and used for retinal pigment epithelial cell (RPEs) regeneration. ARPE-19 cells were seeded in non-purified and purified alginate films, and then cell viability and proliferation were estimated by MTT assay and RT-PCR was performed to assess specific cell expression. ARPE-19 cell-loaded alginate films were evaluated specific protein expression by through AEC staining and we examined the cell adhesion by scanning electron micro scopy (SEM). Conclusions: In this result, ARPE-19 cells in purified alginate films had higher cell proliferative rate and phenotypic expression than those on non-purified alginate films. The results suggest that purified alginate is useful for RPEs regeneration.