Abstract:
The thermo-responsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) has received widespread
attention for its in vitro application in the non-invasive, non-destructive release of adherent
cells on two dimensional surfaces. In this study, 3D non-woven scaffolds fabricated from
poly(propylene) (PP), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and nylon that had been grafted
with PNIPAAm were tested for their ability to support the proliferation and subsequent
thermal release of HC04 and HepG2 hepatocytes. Hepatocyte viability and proliferation was
estimated using the Alamar Blue assay and Hoechst 33258 total DNA quantification. The
assays revealed that the pure and grafted non-woven scaffolds maintained the hepatocytes
within the matrix and promoted 3D proliferation comparable to that of the commercially available AlgimatrixTM alginate scaffold. Albumin production and selected cytochrome P450
genes expression was found to be superior in cells growing on pure and grafted non-woven
PP scaffolds as compared to cells grown as a 2D monolayer. Two scaffolds, namely, PP-g-
PNIPAAm-A and PP-g-PNIPAAm-B were identified as having far superior thermal release
capabilities; releasing the majority of the cells from the matrices within 2 h. This is the first
report for the development of 3D non-woven, thermo-responsive scaffolds able to release
cells from the matrix without the use of any enzymatic assistance or scaffold degradation.
