Figure 4.

The maintenance of primary hepatocytes on the hybrid matrix after 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 days.

Notes: The relative ratios of attached cells in various systems were determined by using the number of cells on PVLA without FBS as the 100% value. The number of primary hepatocytes on the hybrid matrix was higher in the medium with 1% FBS at every time point than the cells on the same surface without or with 10% FBS. The hepatocytes were viable on PVLA (1% FBS), gelatin (10% FBS), and collagen (10% FBS), which was used as a control (A). The relative preservation of hepatocytes was determined by normalizing the cell numbers to the value after 1 day on each matrix (B). The hybrid matrix was made up of EFC and PVLA. The symbol * denotes statistical significance at P<0.05.

Abbreviations: FBS, fetal bovine serum; PVLA, poly-(N-p-vinylbenzyl-4-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-D-gluconamide); EFC, E-cadherin-Fc.