CYTOTOXICITY, GENOTOXICITY AND PROLIFERATION EVALUATION OF 3T3-L1 CELL CULTURE IN CONTACT WITH POLY (N-ISOPROPYLACRYLAMIDE) HYDROGELS.

CAPELLA V ; RIVERO R ; LIAUDAT A; ROMA D; IBARRA L; ALUSTIZA F; OLMOS NICOTRA M; BARBERO C; MAÑAS F; BOSCH P; RIVAROLA C; RODRÍGUEZ N

Congreso; XXXIII Jornadas Científicas Asociación de Biología de Tucumán; 2016

Hydrogels are crosslinked polymers with high affinity for aqueous solutions that have shown great potential for biomedical applications. The aim of the present research was to evaluate cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and proliferation of 3T3-L1 cell line exposed to PNIPAM hydrogel. The hydrogel used was synthesized via free radical polymerization of the monomer N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM). Cellular toxicity of cultures exposed for 96 hours to hydrogel was evaluated by: 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT), neutral red and trypan blue. In addition genotoxicity was assessed using the single-cell electrophoresis assay (comet assay) after 4 days of contact. Finally, cell proliferation was studied by incorporation of tritiated thymidine (H3) in the 3T3-L1 cells exposed for 24 and 48 hours to hydrogel. No significant difference was found in cytotoxicity and genotoxicity assays between the cells exposed to the hydrogel and compared with those not exposed. Cell proliferation was not affected by the presence of the hydrogel. These preliminary results indicate that the PNIPAM hydrogel is a candidate for use it as a surface for cell culture in 2D and future applications in the field of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.