A New Strong-Acid Free Route to Produce Xanthan Gum-PANI Composite Scaffold Supporting Bioelectricity.

Conductive hybrid xanthan gum (XG)-polyaniline (PANI) biocomposites forming three-dimensional structures able to mimic electrical biological functions are synthetized by a strong-acid free medium. In-situ aniline oxidative chemical polymerizations are performed in XG water dispersions to produce stable XG-PANI pseudoplastic fluids. XG-PANI composites with 3D architectures are obtained by subsequent freeze-drying processes. The morphological investigation highlights the formation of porous structures, and the Uv-Vis and Raman spectroscopy characterizations assess the chemical structure of the produced composites. I-V measurements evidence the electrical conductivity of the samples, while electrochemical analyses point out their capability to respond to electric stimuli with electron and ion exchanges in physiological-like environment. Trial tests on prostate cancer cells evaluate the biocompatibility of the XG-PANI composite. Overall, the obtained results demonstrate that an acid-free route produces an electrically conductive and electrochemically active Xanthan Gum-PANI polymer composite. The investigation of charge transport and transfer, as well as of biocompatibility properties of composite materials produced in aqueous environments brings a new perspective for the exploitation of such materials in biomedical applications. In particular, the developed strategy can be used to realize biomaterials working as scaffolds that require electrical stimulations for inducing cell growth and communication or for biosignals monitoring and analysis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.