Polymers derived from lactic and glycolic acid have achieved success in many medical applications and have been investigated as possible materials for degradable scaffolds required in tissue transplantation. Previous investigators have found significant differences in the behavior of cells cultured on chemically similar polyesters of this family but the mechanisms for these differences have remained unclear.
In this study, we fabricated polylactic acid, polylactic-co-glycolic acid, and blend films by melt-processing. The bulk and surface properties of these films were characterized by GPC, DSC, WAXS, SEM, and contact angle. All films were smooth and amorphous and differed only in chemical composition. The films were assessed for their ability to sustain or promote hepatocyte attachment, growth, and function. Cells adhered to and exhibited similar morphology on all substrates. Cells decreased in number to 50–60% of the initial cell number but exhibited high retention of differentiated function on all of the polymer substrates over five days. Cell response was not statistically different on the different substrates indicating that chemical composition, in our range of polymer formulations, does not affect cell behavior.