Protein adsorption, attachment, growth and activity of primary rat osteoblasts on polylactide membranes with defined surface characteristics

The adsorption of proteins and growth and activity of primary rat osteoblasts cultured for 1, 2 and 3 weeks on nonporous and porous resorbable poly(L/DL-lactide) 80/20% membranes with defined surface characteristics were investigated. The growth and activity of cells were estimated from the measurements of DNA, alkaline phosphatase activity and the total amount of protein in the cell lysate. The cell morphology was assessed from scanning electron microscopy and rhodamine staining. The protein adsorption to the membrane surface was assessed from the amide I peak at 1640-1660 cm(-1) and the amide II peak at 1540-1560 cm(-1) in the attenuated total reflection infrared spectra. The relative amount of proteins adsorbed on the nonporous and porous membranes was comparable. The cells growing on the nonporous and porous membranes maintained the phenotype and revealed morphology typical for osteoblasts. The mineralized noduli were larger in size oil the porous membranes. The number of cells, the amount of DNA, the alkaline phosphatase activity, and the total amount of protein increased with time of the experiment and were higher for the porous membranes than for the nonporous ones. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.