The influence of polyelectrolyte charges of polyurethane membrane surface on the growth of human endothelial cells.

A novel technique to introduce free amino groups onto polyester scaffolds via aminolyzing the ester groups with diamine has been developed recently. The introduction of the free amino groups on these polyester surfaces provides us the possibility to modify polymer surface in a simpler manner, e.g. layer-by-layer assembly of charged species. By this technique, many negatively and positively charged biopolymers were deposited alternatively on polyurethane surface. The deposition process was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy and advancing contact angle measurements. The result of human endothelial cells cultured in vitro showed that cells on negatively charged surface could not spread and flatten well due to the electrostatic repulsion. The lower attachment ratio induced the lower proliferation ratio. However, after the surface charge was inversed by collagen, both attachment and proliferation ratios increased to different extent. Observed under SEM, cells also presented a flat and spreading morphology.