Effect of pKa of Polymer Microcarriers on Growth of Mouse L Cell

Abstract

In order to obtain fundamental information about the electrostatic effect of microcarriers on fibroblastic cell growth, the aminated poly(γ-methyl L-glutamate) and the cross-linked poly(ε-lysine) beads were prepared. When the growth of mouse L cell on the various beads were determined by common cell culture methods, it strongly depends on the apparent pK_a of the beads but not on their amino-group content. The polymer beads with neutral apparent pK_a (7.4–7.6), just as in the physiological environment, were found to be excellent microcarriers, showing the highest growth of fibroblastic cells.