Polyaniline cryogels: Biocompatibility of novel conducting macroporous material

Abstract

Polyaniline cryogel is a new unique form of polyaniline combining intrinsic electrical conductivity and the material properties of hydrogels. It is prepared by the polymerization of aniline in frozen poly(vinyl alcohol) solutions. The biocompatibility of macroporous polyaniline cryogel was demonstrated by testing its cytotoxicity on mouse embryonic fibroblasts and via the test of embryotoxicity based on the formation of beating foci within spontaneous differentiating embryonic stem cells. Good biocompatibility was related to low contents of low-molecular-weight impurities in polyaniline cryogel, which was confirmed by liquid chromatography. The adhesion and growth of embryonic stem cells, embryoid bodies, cardiomyocytes, and neural progenitors prove that polyaniline cryogel has the potential to be used as a carrier for cells in tissue engineering or bio-sensing. The surface energy as well as the elasticity and porosity of cryogel mimic tissue properties. Polyaniline cryogel can therefore be applied in bio-sensing or regenerative medicine in general, and mainly in the tissue engineering of electrically excitable tissues.