Fibrinogen, collagen, and transferrin adsorption to poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-xylorhamno-uronic glycan composite conducting polymer biomaterials for wound healing applications.

We present the conducting polymer poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped with an algal-derived glycan extract, Phycotrix™ [xylorhamno-uronic glycan (XRU84)], as an innovative electrically conductive material capable of providing beneficial biological and electrical cues for the promotion of favorable wound healing processes. Increased loading of the algal XRU84 into PEDOT resulted in a reduced surface nanoroughness and interfacial surface area and an increased static water contact angle. PEDOT-XRU84 films demonstrated good electrical stability and charge storage capacity and a reduced impedance relative to the control gold electrode. A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring study of protein adsorption (transferrin, fibrinogen, and collagen) showed that collagen adsorption increased significantly with increased XRU84 loading, while transferrin adsorption was significantly reduced. The viscoelastic properties of adsorbed protein, characterized using the ΔD/Δf ratio, showed that for transferrin and fibrinogen, a rigid, dehydrated layer was formed at low XRU84 loadings. Cell studies using human dermal fibroblasts demonstrated excellent cell viability, with fluorescent staining of the cell cytoskeleton illustrating all polymers to present excellent cell adhesion and spreading after 24 h.