title: Phosphate functionalized and lactic acid containing graft copolymer: synthesis and evaluation as biomaterial for bone tissue engineering applications.
abstract: Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polylactic acids (PLA) are biocompatible materials possessing some inherent contrasting limitations which have reduced the scope of their individual applicability. Specifically, overcoming strong hydrophobicity and introducing chemical groups for biofunctionalization are unmet challenges for PLA whilst chemical endeavors to render adequate aqueous stability and cell adhesion properties to PVA have not produced completely intended results. Objective of the present work is to explore synthesis of a graft polymer as an approach towards coupling biofunctional groups with PLA materials. In a two-step reaction, PPVA (phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol or PVA pre-functionalized with phosphate) is esterified with lactic acid followed by polymerization into PLA in presence of stannous chloride as catalyst to obtain phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol-graft-polylactic acid (PPVA-g-LA) copolymer. Product is characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. PPVA-g-LA shows an increase in uniaxial elongation compared to parent PPVA under condition of tensile loading. The graft copolymer also exhibits higher water contact angles compared to PPVA, but a more hydrophilic surface compared to PLA. Culture of MG-63 cells on solvent cast films of polymers demonstrates that PPVA-g-LA as a cell substrate can significantly (p < 0.05) improve proliferation and differentiation of cells compared to PPVA substrate whereas in comparison to PLA can significantly ameliorate osteoblast function of cultured cells. Overall, results illustrate the feasibility of PVA to act as a carrier for biofunctional agents to be coupled to lactic acid-based biomaterials with subsequent improvement in cell response on the polymers. In this attempt, it also affords materials with tunable surface or bulk properties of relevance for tissue engineering applications.
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India.
authors.forename: Pallab
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Datta
authors.forename: Jyotirmoy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Santanu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhara
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D018786:Bone Substitutes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010710:Phosphates / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013718:Tensile Strength; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D018786:Bone Substitutes; D010710:Phosphates; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide); D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase