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Biomedical subjects

Aurore Schneider

Publications and source records attributed to Aurore Schneider.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Multifunctional polyelectrolyte multilayer films: combining mechanical resistance, biodegradability, and bioactivity.

Cross-linked polyelectrolyte multilayer films (CL PEM) have an increased rigidity and are mechanically more resistant than native (e.g., uncrosslinked) films. However, they are still biodegradable, which make them interesting candidates for biomedical applications. In this study, CL PEM films have been explored for their multifunctional properties as (i) mechanically resistant, (ii) biodegradable, and (iii) bioactive films. Toward this end, we investigated drug loading into CL chitosan/hyaluronan (CHI/HA) and poly(L-lysine)/hyaluronan (PLL/HA) films by simple diffusion of the drugs. Sodium diclofenac and paclitaxel were chosen as model drugs and were successfully loaded into the films. The effect of varying the number of layers in the (CHI/HA) films as well as the cross-linker concentration on diclofenac loading were studied. Diclofenac was released from the film in about 10 h. Paclitaxel was also found to diffuse within CL films. Its activity was maintained after loading in the CL films, and cellular viability could be reduced by about 55% over 3 days. Such a simple approach may be applied to other types of cross-linked films and to other drugs. These results prove that it is possible to design multifunctional multilayer films that combine mechanical resistance, biodegradability, and bioactivity properties into a single PEM architecture.

Adsorption↗

Polyelectrolyte multilayers with a tunable Young's modulus: influence of film stiffness on cell adhesion.

Mechanical properties of model and natural gels have recently been demonstrated to play an important role in various cellular processes such as adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, besides events triggered by chemical ligands. Understanding the biomaterial/cell interface is particularly important in many tissue engineering applications and in implant surgery. One of the final goals would be to control cellular processes precisely at the biomaterial surface and to guide tissue regeneration. In this work, we investigate the substrate mechanical effect on cell adhesion for thin polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) films, which can be easily deposited on any type of material. The films were cross linked by means of a water-soluble carbodiimide (EDC), and the film elastic modulus was determined using the AFM nanoindentation technique with a colloidal probe. The Young's modulus could be varied over 2 orders of magnitude (from 3 to 400 kPa) for wet poly(L-lysine)/hyaluronan (PLL/HA) films by changing the EDC concentration. The chemical changes upon cross linking were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). We demonstrated that the adhesion and spreading of human chondrosarcoma cells directly depend on the Young's modulus. These data indicate that, besides the chemical properties of the polyelectrolytes, the substrate mechanics of PEM films is an important parameter influencing cell adhesion and that PEM offer a new way to prepare thin films of tunable mechanical properties with large potential biomedical applications including drug release.

Carbodiimides↗

Glycated polyelectrolyte multilayer films: differential adhesion of primary versus tumor cells.

Glycated polymers have already been widely employed for cell transfection studies, as cells possess specific lectins. However, up to now, these glycated polymers have barely been investigated for their cell adhesive properties, save macrophages. In this work, we use polyelectrolyte multilayer films made of poly(L-lysine) and poly(L-glutamic) acid as polymeric substrates to investigate the role of sugar molecules (e.g., mannose and lactose) on the adhesion of primary cells as compared to that of a tumor cell line. The glycated polymeric films were compared to ungrafted and chemically cross-linked films, which are known to present opposite adhesive properties. A differential adhesion could be evidenced on mannose grafted films: primary chondrocytes adhere and proliferate well on these films, whereas chondrosarcoma cells do not grow well. Although present, the effect of lactose on cell adhesion was much less important. This adhesion, mediated by glycated polymers, appears to be specific. These results show that it is possible to use glycated polyelectrolytes not only as nonviral vectors but also as cell adhesive substrates.

Adhesiveness↗

Imaging cell interactions with native and crosslinked polyelectrolyte multilayers.

The adhesion of primary chondrocytes to polyelectrolyte multilayer films, made of poly(l-lysine) (PLL) and hyaluronan (HA), was investigated for native and crosslinked films, either ending by PLL or HA. Crosslinking the film was achieved by means of a water-soluble carbodiimide in combination with N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide. The adhesion of macrophages and primary chondrocytes was investigated by microscopical techniques (optical, confocal, and atomic), providing useful information on the cell/film interface. Native films were found to be nonadhesive for the primary chondrocytes, but could be degraded by macrophages, as could be visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy after film labeling. Confocal microscopy images show that these films can be deformed by the chondrocytes and that PLL diffuses at the chondrocyte membrane. In contrast, the cells adhered and proliferated well on the crosslinked films, which were not degraded by the macrophages. These results were confirmed by a MTT test over a 6-d period and by atomic force microscopy observations. We thus prove that chemical crosslinking can dramatically change cell adhesion properties, the cells being more stably anchored on the crosslinked films.

Animals↗

Degradability of polysaccharides multilayer films in the oral environment: an in vitro and in vivo study.

Biomedical devices and modified biomaterial surfaces constitute an expanding research domain in the dental field. However, such oral applications have to face a very particular environment containing specific physiological conditions and specific enzymes. To evaluate their suitability in the development of novel oral applications, the degradability of polyelectrolyte multilayer films made of the natural polysaccharides chitosan and hyaluronan (CHI/HA) was investigated in vitro and in vivo in a rat mouth model. The films were either native or cross-linked using a water-soluble carbodiimide (EDC) in combination with N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide. The in vitro degradation of the films by different enzymes present in the oral environment, such as lysozyme and amylase, was followed by quartz crystal microbalance measurements and confocal laser scanning microscopy observations after being film labeled with CHI(FITC). Whereas native films were subjected to degradation by all the enzymes, cross-linked films were more resistant to enzymatic degradation. Films were also put in contact with whole saliva, which induced a slow degradation of the native films over an 18 h period. The in vivo degradation of the films deposited on polymer disks and sutured in the rat mouth was followed over a 3 day period. Whereas film degradation is fast for native films, it is much slower for the cross-linked ones. More than 60% of these films remained on the disks after 3 days in the mouth. Taken together, these results suggest that the multilayer films made of natural polysaccharides are of high potential interest for oral applications, especially as drug release systems, offering various degradation rates and consequent release characteristics.

Animals↗