Surface Chemistry of Nanocellulose Fibers Directs Monocyte/Macrophage Response.

Hua K, Ålander E, Lindström T, Mihranyan A, Strømme M, Ferraz N

Biomacromolecules 16 (9) 2787-2795 [2015-09-14; online 2015-08-08]

The effect of surface functionalization of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) on monocyte/macrophage (MM) behavior is investigated to understand how the physicochemical properties of nanocelluloses influence the interactions of such materials with biological systems. Films of anionic (a-), cationic (c-), and unmodified (u-) NFC were synthesized and characterized in terms of surface charge. THP-1 monocytes were cultured on the surface of the films for 24 h in the presence and absence of lipopolysaccharide, and the cell response was evaluated in terms of cell adhesion, morphology, and secretion of TNF-α, IL-10, and IL-1ra. The results show that MMs cultured on carboxymethylated-NFC films (a-NFC) are activated toward a proinflammatory phenotype, whereas u-NFC promotes a mild activation of the studied cells. The presence of hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium groups on c-NFC, however, does not promote the activation of MMs, indicating that c-NFC closely behaves as an inert material in terms of MM activation. None of the materials is able to directly activate the MMs toward an anti-inflammatory response. These results may provide a foundation for the design of future NFC-based materials with the ability to control MM activation and may expand the use of NFC in biomedical applications.

BioMaterial Interactions (BioMat)

PubMed 26247827

DOI 10.1021/acs.biomac.5b00727

Crossref 10.1021/acs.biomac.5b00727


Publications 9.5.0