Synthetic polymer derivatives as substrata for neuronal adhesion and growth

The adhesion and viability of dissociated neurons of rat cerebral hemispheres onto methacrylate and methacrylamide hydrogels, either unmodified or containing collagen, basement membrane proteins, and glucosamine, were measured in vitro. The degree of cell adhesion was affected by properties of the polymers such as hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, presence of reactive chemical groups, and incorporation of biological molecules. Adhesion was promoted by attachment of glucosamine to the polymer backbone. Viability was enhanced by the presence of basement membrane proteins within the polymer network. Morphological studies of cells seeded, both onto and within the polymeric matrices, demonstrated the capacity of such substrates to support neuritic outgrowth. The potential of these in vitro assays in the design of polymeric matrices as neural tissue repair promoter substrate is discussed.