Gold nano‐decorated aligned polyurethane nanofibers for enhancement of neurite outgrowth and elongation

Abstract

Neurite outgrowth and elongation of neural cells is the most important subject that is considered in nerve tissue engineering. In this regard, aligned nanofibers have taken much attention in terms of providing guidance for newly outgrown neurites. The main objective of this study was to fabricate aligned polyurethane nanofibers by electrospinning process and decorate them with gold nanoparticles to further investigate the synergistic effects of nanotopography, biological nerve growth factor (NGF) and electrical stimulations on neurite outgrowth and elongation of pheochromocytoma (PC-12) model cells. In this regard, smooth and uniform aligned polyurethane nanofibers with the average diameter of 519 ± 56 nm were fabricated and decorated with the gold nanoparticles with the average diameter of ∼50 nm. PC-12 cells were cultured on the various nanofiber surfaces inside the bio-mimetic bioreactor system and exposed either to NGF alone or combination of NGF and electrical stimulation. It was found that 50 ng/mL NGF concentration is an optimal value for the stimulation of neurite outgrowth. After 4 days of culture under 100 mV, 10 ms electrical stimulation in 1 h/day period it was found that the gold nanoparticle decorated aligned polyurethane nanofibers increased the neurite outgrowth and elongation more with the combinational NGF and electrical stimulation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 1604-1613, 2018.

The Synergistic Effects of Gold Particles and Dexamethasone on the Electrochemical and Biological Performance of PEDOT Neural Interfaces

“…50%. This confirmed an advantageous effect of the presence of gold particles on cell outgrowth, as described previously [19,20]. The neurite length in neurons cultured on PEDOT-Dex and PEDOT-Dex/Au, however, was significantly increased relative to control Pt films, pristine PEDOT and PEDOT-Au films, with a prevalence of neurons on the surface of PEDOT-Dex/Au with respect to PEDOT-Dex.…”

“…In this paper, we postulate that a dual doping/composite approach, employing gold particles deposited onto the surface of a drug-loaded conducting polymer, will result in enhanced electrochemical performance and drug delivery potential. In particular, neural interfaces presenting gold particles have been observed to induce advantageous effects on the outgrowth, alignment and orientation of neurons in vitro [19,20] and the functionalization of an electrode surface with gold has become a promising approach to enhancing electrode cytocompatability. In this study, we hypothesized that by depositing Au particles on the surface of a Dex-loaded polymer matrix synergistic interactions would be observed, enhancing the electrochemical and biological performance of a resulting neural interface.…”

Poly(vinyl alcohol) triggers Au nanoparticles formation for near‐infrared radiation‐responsive gels and nanofibers

“…Therefore, differences in the measuring method may lead to remarkable differences in the temperature reading outcomes. Nanofibers decorated with Au NPs have been shown also useful for electrical stimulation of neural cells favoring tissue regeneration and to develop electrochemical biosensors . Thus, the one‐pot synthesis of Au NPs may find interest in a variety of biomedical applications.…”

Regeneration of the peripheral nerve via multifunctional electrospun scaffolds

“…Using nanoparticles and nanosheets is the topographical modification technique. Decorating these nano‐sized structures on the surface of electrospun nanofibers increased the surface roughness of fibers due to their nanotopographical structure, which provided suitable hubs for cells to attach and proliferate on the surface of scaffolds 129 . Loading graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets on the surface of aligned nanofibers resulted in higher roughness, wrinkle, hydrophilicity, and conductivity of nanofibers due to their topography and graphene‐based nanomaterials compared to aligned nanofibers and aminolyzed nanofibers, which improved SCs and PC‐12 adhesion and proliferation 130 .…”