Monocyte adhesion and subsequent
activation are major events that facilitate the
foreign-body reaction. These studies evaluate
the effect of semicrystalline polyamide
(Nylon-66), poly (ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol)
(EVAL), and poly (vinylidene fluoride)
(PVDF) with nonporous and porous
morphologies on the ability of monocyte
adhesion and activation to produce variable
levels of IL-1b, IL-6, and TNF-a. Results
indicated IL-1b was produced in the greatest
quantity by these polymers. In addition,
monocyte adhesion and activation on a
material may alter to a great extent dependent
on the surface morphology and wettability.
As the membrane wettability increases, the
ability of the membrane to adhere monocytes
increases but to stimulate monocyte
production of cytokines decreases. Similarly,
these membranes when prepared with porous
surfaces can enhance monocyte adhesion and
suppress monocyte activity. Therefore, the
nonporous PVDF membrane is the least
biocompatible in this work. In contrast, the
hydrophilic membrane Nylon-66 with porous
surface is the least stimulating of monocyte
cytokine production when compared to all of
the other membranes evaluated with
nonporous or porous surface. These studies
provide important insight into conditions that
modulate monocyte activity in response to
the substratum morphology and wettability
