Investigation on cell biocompatible behaviors of polyaniline film fabricated via electroless surface polymerization

Considering for the potential application in tissue engineering, polyaniline (PANi) film was fabricated via a two-step route: a self-assembled monolayer of C6H5NHC3H6Si(OMe)3 was firstly formed on the single-crystal Si substrate; the conducting PANi film was then prepared through electroless surface polymerization of the aniline molecules on the aniline monolayer-bearing silane surface in an acidic aqueous solution. The formation of PANi film on Si surface was confirmed by characterizations of X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS) and specular reflectance Fourier transform infrared (SR-FTIR) spectrum, etc. At last, the proliferation behaviors of PC-12 cells on the PANi film surface were studied by the [3-(4,5-dimethyldiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] (MTT) colorimetric assays, acridine orange fluorometric staining, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation, etc. The results demonstrate that the as-prepared PANi film provides high ability for cell proliferation, exhibiting promising potentials as surface coating to cultivate neuronal cells for applications in the tissue engineering.