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Polyaniline, an electroactive polymer, supports adhesion and proliferation of cardiac myoblasts

Conductive polymers, such as polypyrrole, have recently been studied as potential surfaces/matrices for cell- and tissue-culture applications. We have investigated the adhesion and proliferation properties of H9c2 cardiac myoblasts on a conductive polyaniline substrate. Both the non-conductive emeraldine base (PANi) and its conductive salt (E-PANi) forms of polyaniline were found to be biocompatible, viz., allowing for cell attachment and proliferation and, in the case of E-PANi, maintaining electrical conductivity. By comparison to tissue-culture-treated polystyrene (TCP), the initial adhesion of H9c2 cells to both PANi and E-PANi was slightly reduced by 7% (P < 0.05, n = 18). By contrast, the overall rate of cell proliferation on the conductive surfaces, although initially decreased, was similar to control TCP surfaces. After 6 days in culture on the different surfaces, the cells formed confluent monolayers which were morphologically indistinguishable. Furthermore, we observed that E-PANi, when maintained in an aqueous physiologic environment, retained a significant level of electrical conductivity for at least 100 h, even though this conductivity gradually decreased by about 3 orders of magnitude over time. These results demonstrate the potential for using polyaniline as an electroactive polymer in the culture of excitable cells and open the possibility of using this material as an electroactive scaffold for cardiac and/or neuronal tissue engineering applications that require biocompatibility of conductive polymers.