Enhanced proliferation of pre-osteoblastic cells by dynamic piezoelectric stimulation

Abstract

This work reports on the influence of the polarization of electroactive poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, on the biological response of cells cultivated under static and dynamic conditions. Non-poled and ''poled +'' b-PVDF with and without a titanium layer were thus prepared. A thin titanium layer was deposited on PVDF films in order to obtain a more homogeneous surface charge. The MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cell culture exhibited different responses in the presence of PVDF films. The positively charged b-PVDF films promote higher osteoblast adhesion and proliferation, which is higher under dynamic conditions on poled samples, showing that the surface charge under mechanical stimulation improves the osteoblast growth. Therefore, electroactive membranes and scaffolds can provide the necessary electrical stimuli for the growth and proliferation of specific cells.

Effect of filler content on morphology and physical–chemical characteristics of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/NaY zeolite-filled membranes

“…Surface energy is intimately related with material wettability and surface tension and is one of the parameters governing membranes performance and, in particular, cell/scaffold interactions [28]. Materials structures with moderate hydrophilicity generally show enhanced cell growth and higher biocompatibility [40].…”

“…One of the most efficient ways to increase the surface area of composites consists on the production of microfibers by electrospinning [22], in which the modification of the processing parameters lead to variations in electrospun fiber morphology, orientation and diameter [23]. In this way, electrospinning can produce fibers and membranes that are able to mimic extracellular matrix (ECM) of biological tissues [24], being increasingly important in the development of scaffolds for a variety of biomedical applications [25,26] by allowing tailoring cell functions, adhesion and proliferation [27] through modulation of surface electrostatic charge [28], wettability [29], mechanical properties [30] and topography. The introduction of fillers in fibers can also contribute to modify bioactivity and even biocompatibility suppression can occur.…”

Effect of poling state and morphology of piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes for skeletal muscle tissue engineering

“…PVDF films with a thickness around 110 µm were prepared as described in 37 . Briefly, films were obtained by spreading the solution on a glass slide that was then kept inside an oven at controlled temperature of 120 ºC for 60 min, to ensure 55 solvent removal by evaporation and the isothermal crystallization of PVDF.…”

“…Additionally, PVDF can be produced in the form of fibers 34 , films 35 or porous structures 36 with tailor made microstructure. It 80 has been proven that the surface charge of PVDF affects cell viability and proliferation of osteoblasts, being higher in poled than in non-poled samples 37 . Finally, micropatterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films revealed the importance of topographical characteristics of materials in cell adhesion and proliferation, as myoblasts in microgroove surfaces elicited aligned myotubes, in the microgroove direction, whereas 25 myotubes in nonpatterned surfaces did not present any kind of alignment 14 .…”

“…Previous investigations have demonstrated the influence of the polarization of electroactive PVDF on biological cell response. MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts exhibited higher adhesion and proliferation in the presence of poled -PVDF films 25 and showed an increase in cell 45 proliferation under dynamic conditions 37 . The effect of piezoelectric scaffolds on the neurite extension of primary neurons have been investigated and the potential use of a piezoelectric fibrous scaffold for neural repair applications has been also demonstrated 48 .…”