Абстрактный

Hydrophilic Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Films for Cell Adhesion and Proliferation

Akhtar Jahan Siddiqa, Koel Chaudhury and Basudam Adhikari

In the present investigation the surface of low density polyethylene (LDPE) films have been functionalized with acrylamide (AAm) using solution grafting technique. The surface chemistry, structure, roughness and wettability of modified LDPE film have been studied using ATR–FTIR spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle measurement, respectively. Subsequently, the films were screened on their fouling behaviour by cell adhesion and proliferation of HaCaT cells with different grafting times. The degree of grafting of AAm was assessed by means of carbonyl index (CI) in the wave–number of 1672–1633/719–721 cm-1 in the FTIR spectra. The grafted film was found to be hydrophilic in nature as seen from its water contact angle (45° ± 2°). The Nano indentation study revealed that the surface mechanical property of the film has been slightly changed after AAm grafting. The grafted film was found to be non–toxic and biocompatible with HaCaT cells as confirmed by the Alamar blue assay. Thus, it is understood that the AAm grafted LDPE film is a potential candidate for biomedical applications and also useful for other polar polymer surface coatings.