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ABSTRACT
The goal of the present work was to analyze the effect of copper nanoparticles (CNP) embedded in polymer matrices on the cell viability. Both calcium alginate (a natural hydrogel) and polypropylene (a synthetic thermoplastic) matrices were used. Cell viability was tested for cerebral cortex of normal mouse fetuses and human osteosarcoma (SAOS-2). The viability strongly depends on the polymer characteristics as hydrogels presented cytotoxicity at concentrations higher than 0.5 wt% of CNP, whereas polypropylene does not show any effect even at concentrations as high as 20 wt%. These results were explained by the different copper species released from the composites.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
