Cell cultures in the biocompatibility study of synthetic materials

In vitro cytotoxicity (Neutral Red uptake, Kenacid Blue and MTT) and cytocompatibility (cell adhesion and proliferation) tests were applied to the biocompatibility study of a series of poly(ester-ether-ester) block copolymers of potential interest as biomaterials. Our results indicate that the copolymer extracts after 72 hours incubation with a 3T3 mouse fibroblast cell line do not induce significant toxic effects. Furthermore, human umbilical vein endothelial cells seeded on thin copolymer films show a normal pattern of growth. We conclude that the in vitro tests used are a valid instrument to evaluate the potential toxic action of synthetic materials on different cell compartments and that the tested materials seem to be promising for future applications in the field of biomedical devices.