For the purpose of increasing the interaction between cells and polymers, a new biodegradable polymer, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid-co-lysine) (PLGAL), was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization. And the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptides were covalently attached to the polymer chains. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and PLGAL-RGD/PLGA blend were electrospun to fabricate fibrous matrices. To assay the cytocompatibility of the PLGA and PLGAL-RGD/PLGA matrices, cell culture of WI-38 on the matrices was investigated. The results indicate that the cytocompatibility of PLGAL-RGD/PLGA is improved significantly because of the presence of RGD. Electrospun membrane from PLGAL-RGD/PLGA has potential applications in the medical fields. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.