Cytotoxicity tests for nanostructured chitosan/PEO membranes using the agar diffusion method

Abstract

Electrospinning is used to produce fibers in the nanometer range by stretching a polymeric jet using electric fields of high magnitude. Chitosan is an abundant natural polymer that can be used to obtain biocompatible nanostructured membranes. The objectives of this work were to obtain nanostructured membranes based on blends of chitosan and polyoxyethylene (PEO), and evaluate their thermal and morphological properties, as well as their in vitro biocompatibility by agar diffusion cytotoxicity tests for three different cell lines. A nanostructured fibrous membrane with fiber diameters in the order of 200 nm was obtained, which presented a rough surface and thickness ranging from one to two millimeters. The results of the cytotoxicity tests evidenced that the chitosan/PEO membranes are non-toxic to the cells studied in this work. Further, the electrospinning technique was effective in obtaining nanostructured chitosan/PEO membranes, which showed biocompatibility according to in vitro preliminary tests using the cell lines.

N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine-Loaded Chitosan Filaments Biodegradable and Biocompatible for Use as Absorbable Surgical Suture Materials

“…From the evaluation of the halos, the qualitative results of the positive control, negative control, and the CS and CS/GlcNAc filaments were obtained, and the mean values found for the samples are shown in Table 4. As shown in Figure 8a, there was the formation of a halo around the positive control, revealing cell death (lysis) [86] (i.e., their toxicity). As established by ISO 10993-5 (Table 1), for the size of the halo between 0.45 and 1.0 cm, the cytotoxicity is moderate (grade 3).…”

Cytotoxicity and Cell Viability Assessment of Biomaterials

“…Toxicity is determined by the loss of viable cells around the test material, which appears as an unstained area under and around the material being tested. In cases of high concentration and cytotoxicity of the diffusing substance, a loss of dye within the cells may be observed as the leachable toxic substance causes cell lysis [60]. Agar diffusion assays can evaluate the nonspecific cytotoxicity of the tested material's leachable components.…”

Silver nanoparticles incorporated into nanostructured biopolymer membranes produced by electrospinning: a study of antimicrobial activity

“…High voltage is applied to create an electric field between the capillary and the fiber collector, usually a grounded metal plate or a grounded rotating device (Figure 1). Nanostructured membranes of CTS/PEO with and without AgNPs were made by the electrospinning technique, according to the methodology described by Vulcani et al (2012). The resulting blend of CTS/PEO was stirred magnetically for two hours before being electrospun.…”

“…The preparations of the solutions, as well as the preparation of the blend solution and electrospinning, were run at room temperature. The flow rate of 1 mL h -1 was determined by the solution viscosity, and the distance between the needle tips to collector cylinder was 7.5 cm at an applied voltage of 20 kV (Vulcani et al, 2012). …”