FIG. 3.

Cell metabolic activity of different cell types on chitosan films. (A) Rat immortalized SCs (iSCs; 1×10⁴ cells/well) and (B) rat neonatal SCs (neoSCs; 3.5×10⁴ cells/well) were cultured on different chitosan films (5% DA) for up to 7 days in vitro (DIV). The metabolic activity measured in the WST-1 assay (optical density [OD] 450 nm) showed an increase after 3 DIV for both iSCs and neoSCs. Control condition cultures always displayed significantly higher metabolic activities than experimental cultures. Bars represent mean±standard error of the mean (SEM) (n=3 experiments, ***p<0.001). Cell metabolic activity of rat adult SCs (aSCs) and rat BMSCs cultured on chitosan films. (C) aSCs and (D) BMSCs were cultured on chitosan films for 2 and 7 DIV. Metabolic activity showed a nonsignificant decrease after 7 DIV in aSCs while in BMSCs it is increased. Control condition cultures always displayed significantly higher metabolic activities than experimental cultures. Bars represent mean±SEM (n=3, two-way ANOVA ^♦♦♦p<0.0001, ^♦♦p<0.001, ^♦p<0.05). Proliferation rates of rat aSCs and BMSCs when cultured on chitosan films for different periods. (E) aSCs and (F) BMSCs were cultured for 2 and 7 DIV. Proliferation rate was determined for a 24-h window preceding fixation on 2 and 7 DIV. aSCs showed a nonsignificant increase in proliferation with prolonged culture, while BMSCs showed a nonsignificant decrease that was not significant. Bars represent mean±SEM (n=3; two-way ANOVA *p<0.05).