Porous polybutylene succinate films enabling adhesion of human embryonic stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells (hESC-RPE)

[Display omitted] •Properties of PBSu films dependent on the casting method.•PBSu films prepared by breath figures are homogeneous, and have low contact angle.•First study on adhesion of hESC-RPE onto porous and biodegradable polymer surfaces.•Porous PBSu films enable protein adsorption and support adhesion of hESC-RPE.•Surface properties of PBSu films affect the early focal contact of hESC-RPE. In the last decade, several studies have shown that polybutylene succinate (PBSu) has a high potential as a biomaterial enabling cell adhesion and growth. In this study, porous PBSu films have been prepared by the breath figure method (BF) and by particulate leaching (PL), and characterized in terms of thickness, surface properties, diffusion capacity and in vitro stability. Because porous films are of high interest for tissue engineering of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), the initial viability and adhesion of human embryonic stem cell-derived RPE onto the PBSu films was then evaluated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the adhesion behavior of hESC-RPE onto porous and biodegradable polymer surfaces. The results clearly demonstrated that the two manufacturing methods produced materials with very distinct properties. Films produced by BF expressively demonstrated the highest roughness and surface area, and the lowest water contact angle. These features likely contributed to increase the biocompatibility of the surface, particularly when coated with laminin and collagen IV, as observed by the improved cell viability, cell morphology, adhesion and production of extracellular matrix proteins. Altogether, our results showed not only that PBSu holds high potential in retinal tissue engineering, but also that the physical properties and biocompatibility of the material are highly dependent on the adopted casting method.