The effect of surface chemistry on proliferation and morphology of bone cells cultured on surface modified poly(3-hydroxybutrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and untreated PHBV was evaluated. The surface of cast PHBV film was physically and chemically immobilized with collagen. For preparing chemically immobilized collagen surface, PHBV film was ozone treated followed by grafting of PMAA chains and the immobilization of collagen. The surface roughness and hydrophilicity of PHBV film were determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle measurements, respectively. It was found that the duration of ozone exposure and monomer concentration used for grafting PMMA chains influenced the amount of collagen immobilized. The cell proliferation on PHBV surfaces with chemically and physically immobilized collagen was compared with untreated PHBV using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The bone cell activity on chemically and physically immobilized collagen PHBV films was found to be 246 and 107% for UMR-106 and 68 and 9% for MC3T3 cell lines, respectively. Although the results are very preliminary, the chemically grafted collagen on PHBV surface provided a favorable matrix for cell proliferation. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.