Cytocompatibility of poly(acrylonitrile-co-N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) membranes with human endothelial cells and macrophages

Polyacrylonitrile modified with N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP) shows good hemocompatibility. This work, which aims to evaluate the cytocompatibility of membranes fabricated from poly(acrylonitrile-co-N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PANCNVP), studied the adhesion of macrophages and endothelial cell (EC) cultures. It was found that PANCNVP membranes with higher NVP content decreased the adhesion of both macrophages and ECs. Compared with polyacrylonitrile and tissue culture polystyrene control, however, these PANCNVP membranes promoted the proliferation of ECs. Furthermore, the viability of ECs cultured on the PANCNVP membrane surfaces was also relatively competitive. Both static and dynamic water contact angle measurements were conducted to explain the nature of cell adhesion to the PANCNVP membranes. On the basis of these results and the phenomena of water swelling and water states reported previously, it was presumed that the coexistence of large amounts of bound water and free water induced by NVP moieties are responsible for the lower adhesion and better function of cells adhering to the PANCNVP membranes.