Enhancing biocompatibility of polyaniline-based scaffolds by using a bioactive dopant

The role of dopant in the cytotoxicity of polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers was investigated invitro. The testing was carried out on extracts of nanofibers to show the release of dopants in the cell culture medium and their positive or negative effects at different concentrations. In this work, camphor sulfonic acid (CSA) has been replaced by taurine (Tau) in PANI/poly(ethersulfone) (PES) nanofibrous scaffolds that possesses both electrical conductivity and bioactivity. The conductive scaffolds were fabricated via electrospinning and the effect of Tau and CSA on morphology, conductivity, and biocompatibility of scaffolds were studied. The extraction of the CSA-doped PANI nanofibers showed moderate cytotoxicity, while the viability of cells fed with the extraction of Tau-doped PANI nanofibers was higher than other samples. We proposed that PANI-Tau-based nanofibers can be used as a bioactive conductive scaffold for tissue engineering applications. This approach can be an important step towards improving the biocompatibility of conductive PANI-based biomaterials. Conductive PES/PANI nanofibers were fabricated through electrospinning. Tau has been used as the biological dopant for PANI. After placing the scaffold in the cell culture medium, the release of Tau not only does not cause cytotoxicity but also improves cell growth and proliferation. [Display omitted] •Camphorsulfonic acid has been replaced by taurine in polyaniline/poly(ethersulfone) nanofibers as a bioactive dopant.•Taurine is an amino acid that plays various physiological roles in almost all types of tissue.•Camphorsulfonic acid caused moderate cytotoxicity in vitro.•Taurine increased viability of 3T3 cells compared to another acidic dopant.