Surface modification of non-woven poly (ethylene terephthalate) fibrous scaffold for improving cell attachment in animal cell culture

BACKGROUND: The development of carriers with biocompatible surfaces are required to meet the needs in animal cell culture. In this work, poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibrous scaffold surfaces were chemically modified to introduce diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) groups. A packed-bed bioreactor with DEAE-conjugated PET fibrous scaffolds was investigated for continuous production of HBsAg by r-CHO cells.RESULTS: The changes of surface properties were characterized by surface hydrophilicity, Attenuated total reflectance (ATR) analysis, element measurement, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that this treatment could improve surface hydrophilicity and roughness. Using an r-CHO cell line as model cells, the feasibility of the DEAE-conjugated PET fibrous scaffold in animal cell culture was evaluated by means of cell attachment efficiency measurement, MTT (3-(4,5)-dimethylthiathiazo(-z-yl)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide) assay, and scanning electron microscopy observation. Enhancement of cell attachment and proliferation was exhibited in the cell culture on DEAE-conjugated PET fibrous scaffolds. r-CHO cells were cultured for continuous HBsAg production in a packed-bed bioreactor with DEAE-conjugated PET fibrous scaffolds. A cell density of 1.2 x 10⁷ cells mL⁻¹ working volume, cell viability of 92.8% and maximum HBsAg concentration of 3.1 mg L⁻¹ were achieved.CONCLUSION: The packed-bed bioreactor system with DEAE-conjugated PET fibrous scaffolds has the potential for industrial animal cell culture application. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry