<p>Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Functionalized Graphene Oxide in Tissue Engineering: A Review on Recent Advances</p>

Abstract

Owing to the unique physical, chemical, mechanical and electrical properties, graphene and its derivatives have been extensively researched for diverse biomedical applications including in tissue engineering since the past decade. Tunable chemical functionalities of graphene oxide (GO), a graphene derivative, allow easy surface functionalization. Functionalization of GO with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (PEG-GO) has received significant attention as it offers superior solubility, stability, and biocompatibility. Besides being an attractive candidate for drug delivery, PEG-GO can aid in the attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of stem cells, thereby augmenting tissue engineering. PEG-GO has shown excellent antibacterial efficacy, which could be an added advantage to minimize implantassociated infections. This review describes the synthesis techniques, properties, and biological potential of PEG-GO towards mammalian and bacterial cells. Studies wherein these nanomaterials have been explored for engineering various tissues are reviewed along with future opportunities in this field.

Bioactivity of PEGylated Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles Combined with Near-Infrared Laser Irradiation Studied in Colorectal Carcinoma Cells

“…These results are following other authors' data that have demonstrated increased biocompatibility of PEGylated GO and thus its increased applicability in drug delivery [29,52]. Several studies reported strong evidence that functionalization of GO with poly(ethylene glycol) (GO-PEG) enhanced the solubility, dispersity, aqueous stability, biodistribution and cytocompatibility as well as antibacterial potency of the NPs [53]. This is one of the reasons why PEG-functionalized GO NPs were recognized to be more convenient for use in biomedical applications as carriers for hydrophobic anticancer drugs and NIR-coupled photothermal therapy [33,53].…”

“…Several studies reported strong evidence that functionalization of GO with poly(ethylene glycol) (GO-PEG) enhanced the solubility, dispersity, aqueous stability, biodistribution and cytocompatibility as well as antibacterial potency of the NPs [53]. This is one of the reasons why PEG-functionalized GO NPs were recognized to be more convenient for use in biomedical applications as carriers for hydrophobic anticancer drugs and NIR-coupled photothermal therapy [33,53]. However, some authors consider that the increased biocompatibility of PEGylated GO is overestimated slightly as some data point at strong immunological responses during therapy with GO-PEG [54].…”

Beneficial Influence of Water-Soluble PEG-Functionalized C60 Fullerene on Human Osteoblast Growth In Vitro

“…Similar effect was observed for graphene oxide (GO) functionalized with amino-terminated PEG chains (PEG-GO). It was demonstrated that modification of GO using PEG with polar terminal group significantly improved its biodistribution and stability, which led to increase of cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation [ 37 ]. Nevertheless, to determine precise mechanism of action of C60NPEG 5000 on osteoblast growth and proliferation, additional research is needed.…”

Interaction of Graphene Oxide Modified with Linear and Branched PEG with Monocytes Isolated from Human Blood

“…Size [ 15 ] and coating [ 16 ] of GO both impact its uptake and alteration of cell physiology. Pristine GO has little potential to be utilized in clinics, because of its poor colloidal stability in saline and high cytotoxicity [ 17 ]. Modification with various polymers can significantly improve both stability and biocompatibility of GO.…”