In vitro and in vivo toxicity of rinsed and aged nanocellulose-polypyrrole composites.

Novel composites of nanocellulose and the conducting polymer polypyrrole (PPy) are herein suggested as potential candidates for active ion-extraction membranes in electrochemically controlled hemodialysis. This study has defined processing parameters to obtain a biocompatible nanocellulose-PPy composite, and for the first time, the effect of the composite aging on cell viability has been studied. The influence of rinsing and extraction process steps, as well as aging under different conditions (i.e. in air, at -20°C and in argon), on the electroactivity and cytotoxicity of a PPy-nanocellulose composite has been investigated. The biocompatibility evaluation was based on indirect toxicity assays with fibroblasts and monocyte cell lines and an acute toxicity test in mice, while the electroactivity was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry experiments. The as-prepared composite did not induce any cytotoxic response in vitro or in vivo. Extensive rinsing and 48 h incubation in biological buffer previous to the preparation of the culture medium extracts were, however, necessary to obtain a noncytotoxic composite. The as-prepared composite was also found to exhibit acceptable electrochemical performance, which was retained upon 4 weeks storage in argon atmosphere. It was shown that aging of the composite had a negative effect on biocompatibility, regardless of the storage condition. Thus, to allow for longtime storage of electroactive nanocellulose-PPy hemodialysis membranes, the degradation of PPy upon storage must be controlled. The present results show that the biocompatibility of PPy composites depends on the rinsing and pretreatment of the composite material as well as the aging of the material.