Sterilization-Induced Changes in Surface Topography of Biodegradable POSS-PCLU and the Cellular Response of Human Dermal Fibroblasts

The field of tissue engineering is rapidly evolving, generating numerous biodegradable materials suited as regeneration platforms. Material sterility is of fundamental importance for clinical translation; however, a few studies have systematically researched the effects of different sterilization methods on biodegradable materials. Here, we exposed a novel bioabsorbable nanocomposite based on a poly(e-caprolactone urea) urethane backbone integrating polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane nanoparticles (POSS-PCLU) to autoclave, microwave, antibiotics, and 70% ethanol sterilization and systematically correlated differences in material characteristics to the attachment, viability, proliferative capacity, and shape of human dermal fibroblasts (HDFa). Nanotopographical profiling of autoclaved or microwaved surfaces revealed relatively deep nano-grooves, increasing total surface area, roughness, and hydrophobicity, which resulted in significantly fewer adherent cells. Antibiotics or 70% ethanol-treated surfaces displayed shallower nano-grooves, a more hydrophilic character, and significantly greater cellular adhesion (p<0.05). In fact, relative cell proliferation on ethanol-treated films surpassed that of cells grown on every other surface by a factor of 9 over 7 days. Filamentous actin staining demonstrated spindle-like morphologies characteristic of HDFa when grown on ethanol-treated films as opposed to cells grown on other films that were significantly more spread out (p<0.05). We argue that treatment with 70% ethanol serves not only as a laboratory-based sterilizing agent but also as a postproduction processing tool to enhance cytocompatibility of tissue engineering scaffolds.