Enhanced cell affinity of poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (50/50) by plasma treatment with β-(1 → 3) (1 → 6)-glucan

Surface modification with plasma treatment of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (50/50) (PLGA) was investigated for inducing cell affinity onto the polymer surface. β-(1 → 3) (1 → 6)-glucan was immobilized onto the PLGA film by plasma treatment in order to enhance attachment, viability, and growth of fibroblast for skin tissue engineering. The plasma treated film, experimental, and untreated film, control, were coated with β-(1 → 3) (1 → 6)-glucan. For all specimens, the prepared films were grafted with β-(1 → 3) (1 → 6)-glucan in various ratios by solvent casting. The surface of specimen was characterized by contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR). The amount of β-(1 → 3) (1 → 6)-glucan in each sample was indirectly determined by phenol–sulfuric acid method. The result showed that the plasma-modified groups exhibited more amount of β-glucan than the plasma non-treated groups. The human dermal fibroblast (HDF) were seeded on each group at an initial cell density of 2 × 105 cells/film. Cell proliferation was significantly enhanced in the HDF attachment for experimental group after 6 days of incubation (p < 0.05) due to the improved hydrophilicity of PLGA film by plasma treatment. Surface modification of PLGA film with plasma treatment has an effect on β-(1 → 3) (1 → 6)-glucan coating and cell affinity to the film.