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Aligned graphene/silk fibroin conductive fibrous scaffolds for guiding neurite outgrowth in rat spinal cord neurons
Author(s) -
Liu Haifeng,
Wang Yuqing,
Yang Yi,
Wang Anqing,
Huang Chongquan,
Zhao Zhijun,
Li Ping,
Liu Meili,
Fan Yubo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.37031
Subject(s) - fibroin , neurite , materials science , tissue engineering , neural tissue engineering , scaffold , electrospinning , biomedical engineering , graphene , nanotechnology , silk , regeneration (biology) , nanofiber , cell adhesion , adhesion , in vitro , microbiology and biotechnology , composite material , polymer , chemistry , medicine , biochemistry , biology
Graphene, as a highly conducting material, incorporated into silk fibroin (SF) substrates is promising to fabricate an electroactive flexible scaffold toward neural tissue engineering. It is well known that aligned morphology could promote cell adhesion and directional growth. The purpose of this study was to develop aligned conductive scaffolds made of graphene and SF (G/SF) by electrospinning technique for neural tissue engineering applications. The physicochemical characterization of scaffolds revealed that the mechanical and electrochemical property of aligned G/SF scaffolds continually raised with the increasing contents of graphene (A0% G/SF, A1% G/SF, A2% G/SF, and A3% G/SF), but the mechanical property descended when the graphene concentration reached to 4% (the A4% G/SF group). The results of the cell experiment in vitro indicated that all the aligned G/SF scaffolds were no neurotoxic to primary cultured spinal cord neurons. In addition, the neurite elongation in all aligned groups was significantly enhanced by the upregulation of Netrin‐1 expression compared to them in the control group. Thus, A3% G/SF scaffolds not only possessed the optimal property based on the mechanical and electrochemical performances but also displayed the beneficial capability to neurite outgrowth, which might perform a suitable candidate to successfully scaffold electrically active tissues during neural regeneration or engineering.