Synthetic polyester and the extracellular matrix component collagen are among the most widely used materials in tissue engineering. However, the integration of collagen into polyester scaffolds without loss of its biological function is a problem that has not been fully solved. This article investigates the covalent immobilization of collagen onto poly(DL-Lactide-co-Glycolide) (PLGA) membrane surfaces via a bridge of 1,8-diaminooctane and with glutaraldehyde as crosslinking agent. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and fluorescence measurements confirmed the presence of bonded collagen. The effect of collagen grafting on cell behavior was investigated by comparing collagen-PLGA with unmodified PLGA sample and tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) plates by using porcine esophageal smooth muscle cells (ESMC). DNA analysis showed that collagen-modified PLGA improved the overall proliferation of the ESMCs compared with unmodified PLGA and TCPS plates. Cells seeded on collagen-modified PLGA also showed a more extended morphology. Thus, we believe that collagen-modified PLGA shows good potential to be used as a scaffold material for tissue engineering of the esophagus.
(c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2005.