Biodegradable
polymer scaffolds were prepared from
chitosan with varying degree of deacetylation for in vitro culture of human
breast cancer MCF-7 cell lines. These
polymers were characterized in terms of functional groups by FTIR and swelling properties.
Polymers having high degree of deacetylation showed better swelling properties irrespective of the molecular weight. These
polymers were biocompatible and non-toxic towards human epithelial MCF-7 cell lines. Attachment kinetics of MCF-7 cell lines on to
polymer scaffold was investigated and it was observed that
polymer having high degree of deacetylation favored better cell attachment. In CPIII
polymer scaffold having 80% degree of deacetylation, a maximum of 1 millions cells per mg pf
polymer were adsorbed within 1h. It appears that high swelling and high degree of deacetylation of
chitosan helped in better adsorption of
cancer cell lines. The cellular morphology of the attached cells on
chitosan matrix was similar to that observed with regular
plastic culture with the difference that, cells grew as three-dimensional clumps on
chitosan matrix.
Polymer having high degree of deacetylation not only favored better adsorption but also showed improved cell growth kinetics. Maximum cell concentration of 6.5 x 10(5) cells/ml was achieved in 5 days culture on CPIII
polymer scaffold. The
glucose consumption and
lactate production pattern of the MCF-7 cell lines on
chitosan polymer matrix were similar to that observed on cell growth on tissue culture flask. These results indicate that
chitosan scaffold having high degree of deacetylation can be used for three-dimensional growth of MCF-7
cancer cell lines. Such in vitro 3D culture of
cancer cells can thus be used as a model for the cytotoxic evaluation of anticancer drugs.