A Comparison of the Cell Compatibility of Poly(ethyleneimine) with that of other Cationic Biopolymers Used in Applications at Biointerfaces

Abstract

Poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) is used as an initiating base layer or intermediate layer for layer‐by‐layer (LBL) technology. Since PEI is potentially cytotoxic in solution, it is necessary to investigate the influence of the physical properties of PEI layers on osteoblast cells. Therefore, the first aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that there is no statistically significant difference of cell adhesion, proliferation, and viability in response to nanometer thin polymer layers of PEI compared to other well‐known polymers. The second aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the amine‐substituted dextran (aminodextran (AMD)) adheres well on Ti and can be used as a polymer coating in biomaterials applications. Titanium samples were coated with PEI, poly‐L‐lysine (PLL), or AMD using dip coating. The polymer films were investigated with ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy, contact angle measurements, and X‐ray‐photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Cell adhesion, proliferation, and viability tests were carried out using osteoblast‐like cells (CAL‐72). Thin polymer layers below 10 nm layer thickness were found on the Ti surfaces. It was shown for the first time that base layers of PEI with nanometer thickness do not affect the bone cell reaction negatively. PEI, therefore, can be used as a functional base layer for LBL functionalization of metallic implants. AMD can be used in biomedical applications but does not adhere on titanium without an adhesion promoter.

Glycopolymer Polyelectrolyte Multilayers Composed of Heparin and Maltose‐Modified Poly(ethylene imine) as a Strong/Weak Polyelectrolyte System for Future Drug Delivery Coatings: Influence of pH and Sugar Architecture on Growth of Multilayers and Multilayer Swelling and Stability

“…To extend the potential application of biocompatible PEI‐Mal in PEMs attached to solid surfaces, we would like to understand what governs the assembly of PEI‐Mal in the design and fabrication of the PEM. In this context, poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) has been widely used in the fabrication of PEMs, while PEI's toxicity prevents successful use in the field of biomedical applications for PEMs.…”

Herstellung und In-vitro-Analyse einer Polyethylenimin-Beschichtung auf Herniennetzen

“…Der MTT-Test zeigt mittels Farbreaktion die Funktionsfähigkeit der mitochondrialen Dehydrogenasen an und stellt, nachdem die mitochondrial vermittelte Apoptose einer der Hauptmechanismen der Zytotoxizität zu sein scheint, bisher das gängigste Verfahren für ihren Funktionsnachweis dar. In Versuchen mit gelöstem PEI zeigte sich Zytotoxizität mit steigender Molmasse und höherem Verzweigungsgrad der Molekülstruktur[17,[19][20][21]51]. In Versuchen mit Osteoblasten und nieder-bzw.…”

“…In Versuchen mit Osteoblasten und nieder-bzw. hochmolekularen Polyethylenimin-Beschichtungen auf Titan wurde keine Zytotoxizität festgestellt[51]. In Analogie dazu ergaben auch die hier vorliegenden Tests keinerlei Hinweis auf eine Zellschädi-gung.…”

Selectively Promoting or Preventing Osteoblast Growth on Titanium Functionalized with Polyelectrolyte Multilayers

“…Recently, a new approach, namely the functionalization of titanium with bioactive molecules, has been applied for controlling the cell adhesion and growth at the cell–implant interface 13, 15, 16. Titanium surfaces can be coated by the alternate immersion into anionic or cationic polyelectrolyte solution by a layer‐by‐layer (LBL) process 15, 17.…”