Synthesis and characterization of new electroactive polypyrrole-chondroitin sulphate A substrates.

Novel composite polypyrrole/chondroitin-4-sulphate films with cation-exchange properties were synthesized by the electrochemical polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of chondroitin-4-sulphate (CSA) sodium salt, acting as dopant anion at neutral pH. The negatively charged biomolecule was found to be permanently entrapped in the polypyrrole (PPy) membrane which resulted, as expected, facilitated in the mass transport by mobile cationic counterions. The porous nature of the substrates was identified as the most influential factor controlling the morphology. The morphology, in turn, affects the interaction between the material surface and the tissues on a cellular level. In this work in vitro analyses of human fibroblast response to polypyrrole/chondroitin-4-sulphate films were performed to focus on the different steps of cell reactions towards defined surface properties.