Polymers with nano-dimensional surface features enhance bladder smooth muscle cell adhesion

Previous studies investigating the design of synthetic bladder wall substitutes have involved polymers with micro dimensional structures. Since the body is made up of nano-structured components (e.g., extracellular matrix proteins), the focus of the present in vitro study was to design nano-structured polymers for use as synthetic bladder constructs that mimic the topography of natural bladder tissue. In order to complete this task, novel nano-structured biodegradable polymeric films of poly-lactic-co-glycolic-acid (PLGA), poly-ether-urethane (PU), and poly-caprolactone (PCL) were fabricated and separately treated with various concentrations of NaOH (for PLGA and PCL) and HNO3 (for PU) for select time periods. These treatments reduced the polymer surface feature dimensions from conventional micron dimensions to biologically inspired nanometer dimensions. Select cytocompatibility properties of these bio-materials were tested in vitro. Results provide the first evidence that adhesion of bladder smooth muscle cells is enhanced as polymer surface feature dimensions are reduced into the nanometer range. In addition, surface analysis results reveal that the polymer nanometer surface roughness is the primary design parameter that increases bladder smooth muscle cell adhesion. For this reason, the next generation of tissue-engineered bladder constructs with increased efficacy should contain surfaces with nanometer (as opposed to micron) surface features. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.