Cellular Compatibility of Blends Consisting of Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) and Polyethylene Glycol

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a family of biodegradable polyesters, which are generally biodegradable and biocompatible and possess various plastic and elastomeric material properties depending on their monomer constituents. One PHA family member, namely, copolyesters of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate (PHBHHx) showed better mechanical properties compared with poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV). In order to extend the potential application of PHBHHx in vascular-related tissue engineering, surface modification of PHBHHx were made by blending with polyethylene glycol (PEG). When PHBHHx was blended with PEG in ratios of 3∶1 and 2∶1, the two materials were miscible. When the ratio of PEG in the blends increased, phase separation appeared and the materials became partially miscible. Blending with PEG increased the hydrophilicity and surface energy of PHBHHx, leading to significantly enhancement of attachment and proliferation of RaSMCs and HUVECs in a PEG dose dependent way. Specially, PHBHHx blending with PEG in ratio of 1∶1 promoted RaSMCs’proliferation compared with HUVECs’. These results suggest that PHBHHx blended with PEG in this way is promising in constructing complex multilayer vascular grafts.