Cellular behavior of L929 and MG-63 cells cultured on electrospun nanofibers of chitosan with different degrees of phosphorylation

Phosphate groups chemically grafted onto polymer substrates can be used as biomimetic analogs for in vitro studying of function of biomacromolecules and also as tissue substitutes in clinical conditions of organ loss. Despite this inspiration, studies correlating effect of degree of phosphate grafting of a polymer on fabrication and biological properties of polymers are lacking. In this work, N-methylene phosphonic chitosan (PC) with different degrees of phosphate contents were synthesized and the effect of phosphate grafting on electrospinning behavior of substituted polymers is investigated. In PC, higher phosphate content widened concentration range for nanofiber formation. Balance between conductivity and viscosity of solutions played a determinant role in the success of electrospinning process. Culture of L929 cells showed grafting-dependent increase in cell proliferation. On the other hand, culture of MG-63 cells showed a positive correlation between grafting degree and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) expression. It is concluded that improvement of cell response parameters of nanofiber scaffolds can be attained as a function of controlled degree of phosphate grafting in polymeric biomaterials with implications for bone tissue engineering applications. Such studies may also be useful to develop quantitative structure activity relationships of functional polymers. © 2016, The Author(s).