Interaction of fibroblast cells on poly(lactide-co-glycolide) surface with wettability chemogradient

Chemogradient surfaces whose properties are changed gradually along the sample length are of particular interest for the basic studies of the interaction between biological species and surfaces since the effect of a selected property can be examined in a single experiment on one surface. A wettability chemogradient on the poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) films by treating them in air with corona from a knife-type electrode whose power increases gradually along the sample length. The PLGA surfaces oxidized gradually with the increasing corona power, and the wettability chemogradient was created on the surfaces as evidenced by the measurement of water contact angles and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. The wettability chemogradient PLGA surfaces prepared were used to investigate the interaction of fibroblast cells in terms of the surface hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of PLGA surface. The cells adhered and grown on the chemogradient surface along the sample length were counted and observed by scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that the cells were adhered, spread, and grown more onto positions with moderate hydrophilicity of the wettability chemogradient PLGA surface than onto the more hydrophobic or hydrophilic positions. The maximum adhesion and growth of the fibroblast cells appeared at around water contact angle of 55°. It seems that the wettability plays important roles for cell adhesion, orientation, spreading and growth on the PLGA surface. It might be that this surface modification technique can be used for improving the adhesion and growth of cell onto PLGA film and scaffolds, and can be applicable in the area of the tissue engineering.