Cell adhesive behavior of PVA-based hybrid materials with silver nanoparticles

Hybrid materials based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) with embedded silver nanoparticles (AgNps) were prepared using sol-gel method. The hybrid materials with three different silver concentrations from 0.36 mg/mL to 1.8 mg/mL were characterized by TEM, SEM and TGA analyses. Physico-chemical surface characterization of the materials was done by measuring the water contact angle of the materials and AFM. The materials were tested as matrices for potential use in tissue engineering field. The cytotoxicity of the materials and the cell adhesion (actin cytoskeleton) of 3T3 cells as a function of silver nanoparticles content were studied. The synthesized PVA/TEOS/AgNps materials were proven to be efficient for use in tissue engineering applications since they exhibit low cytotoxicity and sufficient cell adhesion.