Comparative investigation of polyhydroxyalkanoate scaffolds with various chemical compositions

The authors have constructed and characterized a series
of membranes based on resorbable polyhydroxyalkanoates of
different compositions. Five PHA types have been studied: a
homopolymer of 3-hydroxybutyric acid, copolymers of 3-hydroxybutyric
and 4-hydroxybutyric acids, 3-hydroxybutyric
and 3-hydroxyvaleric acids, 3-hydroxybutyric and 3-hydroxyhexanoic
acids. Scanning electron microscopy and atomicforce
microscopy were used to examine the microstructure
of membrane surfaces, showing that membranes based on
the copolymer of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate
had the roughest surface, while membranes based on the copolymer
of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyvalerate had the
smoothest surface. The contact angle for water in air was
smaller and hydrophilic properties better in the copolymer
membranes than in the membranes based on the high-crystallinity
homopolymer of 3-hydroxybutyric acid. The culture of
mouse fibroblast cell line NIH 3Т3 was used to test PHAbased
membranes; results of fluorescent probes of DNA DAPI
and the MTT assay show that membranes based on studied
PHAs are not cytotoxic on direct contact with cells and are
highly biocompatible; their adhesive properties and ability to
maintain fibroblast proliferation are similar to those of polystyrene
and better than those of polylactic acid membranes.