BSA Adsorption on Porous Scaffolds Prepared from BioPEGylated Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate)

Abstract

Porous scaffolds for tissue engineering have been prepared from poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and a copolymer of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and polyethylene glycol (PHB-PEG) produced by bioPEGylation. The morphology of the scaffolds and their capacity for adsorption of the model protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) have been studied. Scaffolds produced from bioPEGylated PHB adsorbed more BSA, whereas the share of protein irreversibly adsorbed on these scaffolds was significantly lower (33%) than in the case of PHB homopolymer-based scaffolds (47%). The effect of protein adsorption on scaffold biocompatibility in vitro was tested in an experiment that involved the cultivation of fibroblasts (line COS-1) on the scaffolds. PHB-PEG scaffolds had a higher capacity for supporting cell growth than PHB-based scaffolds. Thus, the bioPEGylated PHB-based polymer scaffolds developed in the present study have considerable potential for use in soft tissue engineering.