Collagen/chitosan-functionalized graphene oxide hydrogel provide a 3D matrix for neural stem/precursor cells survival, adhesion, infiltration and migration

Abstract

To have therapeutic promise of neural stem/precursor cells (NS/PCs) an appropriate scaffold is mostly essential. This study was conducted to fabricate collagen (Col)/chitosan-functionalized graphene oxide (CSGO) nanocomposite hydrogel and evaluated it as scaffold for NS/PCs. Graphene oxide was first functionalized with chitosan and the obtained CSGO was then added to Col solution and the solution underwent hydrogel formation. GO sheets were exfoliated after CS functionalization and the CSGO was homogenously dispersed in Col hydrogel. CSGO addition resulted in hydrogels with higher porosity and smaller Col fibers. Furthermore, CSGO increased the gelation time and water absorption capacity while the degradation was decreased. Cell studies demonstrated higher viability of NS/PCs on Col/CSGO hydrogel comparing with Col and poly-l-lysine as control (Cnt). NS/PCs were also penetrated into the Col/CSGO hydrogel and showed more cell spreading, neurite outgrowth and inter-cell connections in comparison with Col hydrogel. In addition, the cells traveled longer distance on Col/CSGO hydrogels than on Col and Cnt, indicating excellent migration capacity of NS/PCs on Col/CSGO hydrogel. Our results indicate the potential Col/CSGO hydrogels as an appropriate scaffold for NS/PCs.

Graphene Oxide–Protein-Based Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering: Recent Advances and Applications

“…Thus, the seeding of such self-repairing cells on a suitable platform can lead to the formation of new microengineered tissue by employing a suitable environment and also by using specific biological signals to help the cells to proliferate and identify the implantation site [151][152][153][154]. Considering this principle, Rezaei et al [155] fabricated a nanocomposite hydrogel based on collagen and GO functionalized with chitosan as a scaffold for neural stem/precursor cells (NS/PCs). Collagen, by its nature, is a hydrophobic molecule, and thus, numerous polar functional groups introduced by GO significantly improve the water affinity of the hydrogel, which will consequently favor cell adhesion.…”

Engineering Tissues of the Central Nervous System: Interfacing Conductive Biomaterials with Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells

“…[367] For example, graphene-containing bioinks based on PU-PCL and PPy-PCL copolymers have been used to print viable cultures of embedded neural cells. [369,396,397] Laponite, a synthetic nanoclay consisting of silicate nanoplatelets, has been explored by a number of groups as a bioink additive for its ability to impart conductivity and shear thinning properties desirable for 3D printing. [397][398][399] For example, laponite was dispersed in heparin hydrogels that were then evaluated in a spinal cord crush model (T9) in rats.…”

“…[ 387,388 ] To increase cytocompatibility, cationic chitosan or polyethyleneimine (PEI) can be condensed with anionic graphene oxide to produce particles of controlled sizes. [ 384,386 ]…”

Renewable Carbon Nanomaterials: Novel Resources for Dental Tissue Engineering

“…The oxidized form of graphene, GO, contains many oxygen-containing functional groups (i.e., hydroxyl groups and epoxies on the basal plane and carboxyl groups on the edges) while preserving the same thin atom structure graphene [25]. The presence of oxygen-containing functionalities provides GO with more active sites than graphene, facilitating the covalent or noncovalent interaction with biomolecules and other nanomaterials [26,27].…”