Electric conducting and biodegradable copolymers, containing self-doped conducting polymer and biodegradable polymer segments, were synthesized and characterized. These copolymers display unique characteristics in regards to doping for conductivity, biocompatibility and biodegradability.  Various conducting scaffolds were prepared through different processing. Initial experiments demonstrate that these copolymers are not only biodegradable, but also biocompatible, by supporting the growth of osteoblasts.Electric field stimulation of various cells of the osteoblastic lineage grown on these copolymers revealed positive effects on not only cellular proliferation, but also differentiation, into a more mature, bone-forming phenotype. Our findings suggest that these copolymers have beneficial effects on bone formation, which may have clinical utility in treating various musculoskeletal pathologies. Studies on the effects of these scaffolds on bone formation are currently underway in our laboratoryKeywords: Biodegradable self-doped conducting polymer, osteoblasts, bone, cartilage, electric stimulation.

Biodegradable conducting polymer-based “3D” scaffolds for tissue engineering

245th National Meeting (2013)

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