Quantitative Foundations of Polymer Biocompatibility and Biodestructibility

Piezoelectric fiber-composite-based cantilever sensor for electric-field-induced strain measurement in soft electroactive polymer

Polymeric materials have been widely used in electronic and electromechanical transducer applications. Because of their low elastic modulus, it is quite challenging to accurately characterize the electric-field-induced strain and elastic modulus by conventional contact methods. In this paper, a piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) fiber-composite-based cantilever strain sensor has been investigated to accurately characterize the electric-field-induced strain response in the out-of-plane direction of soft electroactive polymer samples. By choosing appropriate substrate material and the thickness ratio of the fiber composite to the substrate, this strain sensor can be optimized to provide high sensitivity and high flexibility simultaneously. The high voltage sensitivity can be attributed to partial decoupling of the longitudinal and transverse piezoelectric responses, the improved piezoelectric coefficient and small dielectric permittivity. The high flexibility is due to the reduced flexural spring constant of the composite-based cantilever device. Both theoretical modeling of the PZT fiber-composite-based cantilever device and experimental verification are performed in this work. The results indicate that the piezoelectric PZT fiber-composite-based cantilever strain sensor can accurately characterize the electric-field-induced small strain in electroactive soft polymers with high reliability.

RGD peptide-conjugated poly(dimethylsiloxane) promotes adhesion, proliferation, and collagen secretion of human fibroblasts

A novel technique for conjugating Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptides to poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) surfaces as well as its application to cell culture is presented in this paper. This technique performs RGD conjugation to PDMS through photochemical immobilization of functional NHS groups to PDMS surface followed with linking RGD peptide to the surface via coupling reaction with NHS. A bifunctional photolinker, N-sulfosuccinimidyl-6-(4'-azido-2'-nitrophenylamino)hexanoate (sulfo-SANPAH), was used to conjugate RGD peptide to the surface. Compared to existing methods for peptide conjugation to PDMS, this technique is convenient, efficient, and free of organic contamination to PDMS surfaces. It can also be used to conjugate other peptides or proteins to most polymeric materials. In addition, cell culture studies showed that the RGD-conjugated PDMS surfaces promoted the adhesion, proliferation, and collagen production of human skin fibroblasts (HSFs). Finally, the RGD-conjugated PDMS surfaces are resistant to autoclaving and UV irradiation, which enables them to be repeatedly used in cell culture studies.

Biocompatibility of electroactive polymers in tissues

The biocompatibility of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVAc), polyethylene (PE), and polyaniline (PANi) films in the emeraldine (EM), nigraniline (NA) and leucoemeraldine (LM) intrinsic oxidation states were assessed through subcutaneous implantation into male Sprague-Dawley rats beneath the dorsal skin, for a period ranging from 19 to 90 weeks. Histological examination, interstitial pressure measurement, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to determine the biocompatibility of the polymers. The polymers did not provoke inflammatory responses in the subcutaneous tissues over the entire implantation period. Characteristics features associated with tissue-implant incompatibility were not evident near the implantation. Interstitial pressure was measured to evaluate the development of tissue. Low interstitial pressure readings on the region of implantation confirmed the biocompatibility of these polymer types. The surface composition of the electroactive aniline polymers before and after the implantation was characterized by XPS.