Time-dependent effects of pre-aging polymer films in cell culture medium on cell adhesion and spreading

We have tested the hypothesis that cell adhesion and spreading on polymer films are influenced by the amount of time that the polymer films are pre-aged in cell culture medium. Cell adhesion and spreading were assessed after a 6-h culture on poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PDLLA) films that had been pre-aged in cell culture medium for 30 min, 1, 3 or 7 d. Cell adhesion and spread area were enhanced as the duration of pre-aging PDLLA films in cell culture medium was increased. Materials characterization showed that the hydrophobicity and surface morphology of the PDLLA films changed with increasing length of pre-aging time. These results suggest that cell adhesion and spreading are sensitive to the time-dependent changes in PDLLA hydrophobicity and surface morphology that occur during exposure of the polymer to cell medium for different lengths of time. These results demonstrate that cell response to a degradable, biomedical polymer can change as a function of the amount of time that the polymer is exposed to physiological medium.