Biomaterials made of natural polysaccharides have attracted much attention due to the fact of their excellent properties, such as high biocompatibility and biodegradability, and their specific biological functions based on their chemical structures. This study demonstrates that polysaccharide composite films can be fabricated from polyion complexes (PICs) with their particles used as building components. Dispersion of PIC particles prepared by mixing, centrifugation, and re-dispersion of dilute solutions of cationic and anionic polysaccharides were cast, dried, and formed into films several micrometers thick. These films were homogenous and water insoluble. It was revealed that the component anionic polysaccharides affected the film's properties such as the swelling behavior and mechanical characteristics. Adhesion of NIH3T3 cells (integrin: high, CD44: lack or weak) and A549 cells (integrin: high, CD44: high) to the composite films were examined. Both NIH3T3 and A549 cells adhered to heparin/chitosan (HEP/CHI) film because HEP has an affinity for integrin through fibronectin. However, A549 cells adhered to chondroitin sulfate (CS)/CHI and hyaluronic acid (HYA)/CHI films, whereas NIH3T3 cells did not, because both CS and HYA have affinity for CD44. These results indicated that the biological functions of anionic polysaccharides were maintained on the surface of the composite films. It was also possible to fabricate films composed of three kinds of polysaccharides: one cationic polysaccharide and two kinds of anionic polysaccharides. These results show that the properties of films composed of three kinds of polysaccharides may be controllable depending on the anionic polysaccharide composition rates.
Keywords: glycosaminoglycan; polyion complex; polysaccharide; thin film.