Poly(L-lactic acid) membranes: absence of genotoxic hazard and potential for drug delivery.

The use of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) has been considered an important alternative for medical devices once this polyester presents biomechanical, optical and biodegradable properties. Moreover, the use of PLA results in less inflammatory reactions and more recently it has been proposed its application in drug delivery systems. Genotoxicological evaluations are considered part of the battery assays in toxicological analysis. Considering the wide applications of PLA, the present work evaluated the potential cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of PLA in CHO-K1 cells, as well as its physicochemical properties. No cytotoxic effects of PLA were detected by colorimetric tetrazolium assay (XTT) analysis, and the clonogenic survival assay showed that PLA did not disrupt the replicative cell homeostasis, neither exhibited genotoxic effects as evidenced by comet and micronucleus assays. Thermogravimetric properties of PLA were not altered after contact with cells and this film exhibited ability in absorb and release Europium(III) complex. All these data suggest genotoxicological safety of PLA for further applications in drug delivery systems.