Issue 2, 2012
From the journal:

Journal of Materials Chemistry

Biodegradable free-standing nanomembranes of conducting polymer:polyester blends as bioactive platforms for tissue engineering

Elaine Armelin,*ab   Alex L. Gomes,ac   Maria M. Pérez-Madrigal,ab   Jordi Puiggalí,ab   Lourdes Franco,ab   Luis J. del Valle,d   Alfonso Rodríguez-Galán,a   João Sinézio de C. Campos,c   Nuria Ferrer-Angladae  and  Carlos Alemán*ab  

* Corresponding authors

a Departament d'Enginyeria Química, E.T.S. d'Enginyers Industrials de Barcelona, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Av. Diagonal 647, Barcelona, Spain
E-mail: elaine.armelin@upc.edu, carlos.aleman@upc.edu

b Center for Research in Nano-Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Campus Sud, Edifici C′, C/Pasqual i Vila s/n, Barcelona, Spain

c Departamento de Tecnologia de Polímeros, Faculdade de Engenharia Química, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Avenida Albert Einstein no. 500, Barão Geraldo, Campinas-SP, Brazil

d Departament d'Enginyeria Agroalimentària i Biotecnología, ESAB, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, C/Esteve Terradas 8, Castelldefels, Spain

e Departament de Física Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, C/Jordi Girona, 1-3, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

The present study reports the fabrication of free-standing nanomembranes with semiconducting and biodegradable properties. Nanomembranes have been prepared by spin-coating mixtures of a semiconducting polythiophene derivative, poly(3-thiophene methyl acetate), and a biodegradable polyester, poly(tetramethylene succinate). Both the roughness and thickness of the nanomembranes, which ranged from 3 to 20 nm and from 20 to 80 nm, respectively, were precisely controlled through the spin-coater speed and the solvent evaporation properties. Nanomembranes made of conducting polymer/polyester blends, which are able to retain the properties of the individual polymers, are stable in air and in ethanol solution for more than one year, facilitating their manipulation. Enzymatic degradation essays indicated that the ultra-thin films are biodegradable due to the presence of the aliphatic polyester. Interestingly, adhesion and proliferation assays with epithelial cells revealed that the behavior of the blend as cellular matrix is superior to that of the two individual polymers, validating the use of the nanomembranes as bioactive substrates for tissue regeneration.

Graphical abstract: Biodegradable free-standing nanomembranes of conducting polymer:polyester blends as bioactive platforms for tissue engineering

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C1JM14168F
Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Aug 2011
Accepted
06 Oct 2011
First published
04 Nov 2011

J. Mater. Chem., 2012,22, 585-594

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Biodegradable free-standing nanomembranes of conducting polymer:polyester blends as bioactive platforms for tissue engineering

E. Armelin, A. L. Gomes, M. M. Pérez-Madrigal, J. Puiggalí, L. Franco, L. J. D. Valle, A. Rodríguez-Galán, J. S. D. C. Campos, N. Ferrer-Anglada and C. Alemán, J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 585 DOI: 10.1039/C1JM14168F

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