Functionalized Conducting Polymer Nano-Networks from Controlled Oxidation Polymerization toward Cell Engineering

In this work we present a general approach for bulk synthesis of various functionalized conducting polymer nano-networks. 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) dimers are used to initiate the chemical polymerization of functionalized EDOT in the solvent system with high polarity, which leads to better control of the oxidation polymerization. Under these reaction conditions, various functionalized EDOT monomers form polymeric nano-network structures. We also evaluate the cell growth and cell viability on these conducting polymer nano-networks. The nano-networks provide highly biocompatible materials for PC12 cells and they show nice attachment on the surface. These properties of functionalized conducting polymer nano-networks indicate a promising platform for cell engineering.