Electroactivity and biocompatibility of polypyrrole-hyaluronic acid multi-walled carbon nanotube composite

Electroactivity of polypyrrole hyaluronic acid, electropolymerized in the presence of oxidized carbon nanotubes (PPyHA‐CNT) was studied in situ by electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC‐AFM) in physiological electrolyte solution. In situ Raman spectroscopic and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) studies were conducted on layers of the polymer grown on AT‐cut 5 MHz quartz crystals. Human adipose stem cell (ASC) attachment and viability were studied by Live/Dead staining, and the proliferation was evaluated by WST‐1 Cell proliferation assay for polypyrrole samples electropolymerized on titanium. According to cyclic voltammetry, the measured specific capacitance of the material on gold is roughly 20% of the reference polypyrrole dodecylbenzene sulfonate (PPyDBS). Electrochemical‐QCM (EC‐QCM) analysis of a 210‐nm thick film reveals that the material is very soft G′∼100 kPa and swells upon reduction. EC‐AFM of samples polymerized on microelectrodes show that there are areas of varying electroactivity, especially for samples without a hydrophopic backing PPyDBS layer. AFM line scans show typically 20–25% thickness change during electrochemical reduction. Raman spectroscopic analysis suggests that the material supports noticeable polaron conduction. Biocompatibility study of the PPyHA‐CNT on titanium with adipose stem cells showed equal or better cell attachment, viability, and proliferation compared with the reference polylactide. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2010