Morphological and growth responses of vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells cultured on immobilized heparin and dextran sulfate surfaces

Heparin has shown promise as a component of various biomaterial formulations, but its variable properties and inhibitory effects on some cell types have raised interest in use of dextran sulfate as an alternative. In this study, we characterized the interactions of vascular smooth muscle (SMC) and endothelial cells (EC) with heparin and dextran sulfate immobilized onto chitosan‐based films. Films were modified by blending chitosan with type I collagen and covalently attaching heparin or dextran sulfate at various levels. Cell‐material interactions were evaluated by quantifying cell spreading, shape and proliferation rate. ECs proliferated well on chitosan, but the polymer was a mediocre substrate for SMC growth. Immobilizing heparin on chitosan further inhibited SMC proliferation. However, blending collagen reversed the heparin inhibition of SMC growth, resulting in a pro‐proliferative effect of heparin immobilized on chitosan‐collagen films. Dextran sulfate surfaces supported both SMC and EC proliferation with or without the presence of collagen. The results indicate that inhibitory effects of heparin on SMC are reversed by immobilization in the presence of collagen, and that dextran sulfate may be superior to heparin as a biomaterial additive for promoting vascular cell growth in chitosan‐based scaffolds. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 1725–1735, 2017.