Chemical modification of polysulfone membrane by polyethylene glycol for resisting drug adsorption and self-assembly of hepatocytes

Both hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility of biomaterials are the prerequisite for the application in tissue engineering. Although polyethylene glycol (PEG) has attracted considerable attention for its good hemocompatibility in resisting adsorption of platelets and proteins, so far no report has focused on how to prevent the adsorption of small molecules which is also key characterization of hemocompatibility. Further, PEG is bioinert and usually elicits no cell–surface interactions, which is also the obstacle for application in tissue engineering. In this regard, this paper aimed to improve both hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility of polysulfone (PSU) membrane by grafting PEG. The novel PEG grafted PSU (PSU-g-PEG) membrane fabricated in the experiments held dramatically higher water flux and bovine serum albumin (BSA) permeability than PSU membrane. It also showed low adsorption to small molecular drugs with either hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity, while the PSU membrane adsorbed hydrophobic drugs severely. Moreover, the cytocompatibility of the PSU-g-PEG membrane can be achieved by the regulation of hepatocyte self-assembly. Unlike the nonsurviving cells on PSU membrane, hepatocytes on PSU-g-PEG membrane could self-assemble into small spheroids which maintained cell viability and liver-specific functions within 96 h of culture. The specific hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility of PSU-g-PEG membrane suggest strong potential applicability in tissue engineering as well as in drug investigation in vitro.

Research highlights▶ PSU-g-PEG membrane was fabricated with higher permeability than PSU membrane. ▶ PSU-g-PEG membrane showed low adsorption to small molecular drugs. ▶ PSU-g-PEG membrane with cytocompatibility could regulate hepatocyte self-assembly.