Effect of extracts of poly(ether imide) microparticles on cytotoxicity, ROS generation and proinflammatory effects on human monocytic (THP-1) cells.

Current haemodialysis techniques are not capable to remove efficiently low molecular weight hydrophobic uremic toxins from the blood of patients suffering from chronic renal failure. With respect to the hydrophobic characteristics and the high level of protein binding of these uremic toxins, hydrophobic adsorber materials might be an alternative to remove these substances from the plasma of the chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Here nanoporous microparticles prepared from poly(ether imide) (PEI) with an average diameter of 90 ± 30 μm and a porosity around 88 ± 2% prepared by a spraying/coagulation process are considered as candidate adsorber materials. A prerequisite for the clinical application of such particles is their biocompatibility, which can be examined i.e. indirectly in cell culture experiments with the particles' extracts. In this work we studied the effects of aqueous extracts of PEI microparticles on the viability of THP-1 cells, a human leukemia monocytic cell line, as well as their macrophage differentiation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and inflammation.A high cell viability of around 99 ± 18% and 99 ± 5% was observed when THP-1 cells were cultured in the presence of aqueous extracts of the PEI microparticles in medium A and medium B respectively. The obtained microscopic data suggested that PEI particle extracts have no significant effect on cell death, oxidative stress or differentiation to macrophages. It was further found that the investigated proinflammatory markers in THP-1 cells were not up-regulated. These results are promising with regard to the biocompatibility of PEI microparticles and in a next step the hemocompatibility of the microparticles will be examined.