In vitro Characterization of an Electroactive Carbon‐Nanotube‐Based Nanofiber Scaffold for Tissue Engineering

Abstract

In an effort to reduce organ replacement and enhance tissue repair, there has been a tremendous effort to create biomechanically optimized scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. In contrast, the development and characterization of electroactive scaffolds has attracted little attention. Consequently, the creation and characterization of a carbon nanotube based poly(lactic acid) nanofiber scaffold is described herein. After 28 d in physiological solution at 37 °C, a change in the mass, chemical properties and polymer morphology is seen, while the mechanical properties and physical integrity are unaltered. No adverse cytotoxic affects are seen when mesenchymal stem cells are cultured in the presence of the scaffold. Taken together, these data auger well for electroactive tissue engineering.

The Role of Nanotechnology in Induced Pluripotent and Embryonic Stem Cells Research

“…Nanofibers are the most reported materials, ranging from synthetic biodegradable polymers [polylactic acid (PLA), 184 poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolicacid)(PLGA), 185 polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) 186 or polycaprolactone (PCL)], to natural materials, including collagen, 187 gelatin 188 and chitosan. 189 In addition, nanotubes like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) 190 and titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanotubes, are good candidates for scaffold fabrication (e.g., in bone replacement therapy), in view of their tremendous mechanical strengths.…”

Biomaterials and nano-scale features for ligament regeneration

“…Due to the ease of fabrication, carbon nano-fi bers and nanotubes have also been combined with polyhydroxyesters to produce composites with enhanced mechanical properties (Chrissafi s et al ., 2010 ;Mackle et al ., 2011 ) and improved degradation rates (Chrissafi s et al ., 2010 ). In vitro cell response studies to aligned carbon nanotube composites showed fi broblast morphology resembling that of native tissues (Yuen et al ., 2008 ).…”

“…In vitro cell response studies to aligned carbon nanotube composites showed fi broblast morphology resembling that of native tissues (Yuen et al ., 2008 ). Although not much work has been done specifi cally for ACL regeneration, adequate biocompatibility has been shown in vitro with periodontal ligament cells (Mei et al ., 2007 ) and hMSCs (Mackle et al ., 2011 ) seeded on carbon nanocomposites. These results indicated that carbon nanocomposites should be further researched for ligament scaffold construction.…”

Preparation, Characterization, Mechanical Properties and Electrical Conductivity Assessment of Novel Polycaprolactone/Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Nanocomposites for Myocardial Tissue Engineering

“…Their unique electrical and mechanical properties can be exploited to create biomimetic tailored scaffolds. Initially, a range of MWCNTs concentrations were screened to determine the optimal electrical properties [9]. In recent years, the combination of natural and synthetic polymers with various other materials has shown improvement in their chemical, physical, and biological properties [5].…”