Bacterial cellulose / gelatine as a biopolymeric platform for application in cell cultivation

Abstract

Paper, one of the oldest and most used inventions in history, has several applications, such as support for writing, packaging and bank notes. Recently, paper has gained a new application related to the medical and pharmaceutical fields: it has been used as a platform for cell culture in the investigation of cellular responses to the administration of drugs or pathologies, as a scaffold in tissue engineering and cryopreservation. Bacterial cellulose (BC), which can be considered a nanopaper, presents itself as a promising platform for cell culture, since the random arrangement of its nanofibers makes the material structure similar to the extracellular matrix. In addition, BC has numerous distinct characteristics such as biocompatibility, high crystallinity and non-toxicity. However, because BC has a chemically inert surface, its surface does not promote good cell adhesion, so modification of its surface is required in order to improve cell-BC interaction. Gelatin, a polypeptide derived from collagen denaturation, allows good adhesion and cell proliferation on its surface, in addition to being biocompatible and non-toxic. In this sense, the present study aims to modify the bacterial cellulose surface with different concentrations of gelatin and to evaluate the influence of the reticulating agents genipin, glucose, proanthocyanidin and ultraviolet radiation on cell adhesion and proliferation on the surface of the produced materials. The functionalized membranes will be characterized in terms of structural aspects, morphology and thermal properties and contact angle measurements will be performed in order to check the surface wettability. Cell viability will be performed through the MTT assay and the cell adhesion and proliferation on materials will be evaluated by in vitro assays after 24 and 48 hours in culture. (AU)