Mechanically Robust 3D Graphene–Hydroxyapatite Hybrid Bioscaffolds with Enhanced Osteoconductive and Biocompatible Performance

Abstract

In this paper, we describe three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical graphene-hydroxyapatite hybrid bioscaffolds (GHBs) with a calcium phosphate salt electrochemically deposited onto the framework of graphene foam (GF). The morphology of the hydroxyapatite (HA) coverage over GF was controlled by the deposition conditions, including temperature and voltage. The HA obtained at the higher temperature demonstrates the more uniformly distributed crystal grain with the smaller size. The as-prepared GHBs show a high elasticity with recoverable compressive strain up to 80%, and significantly enhanced strength with Young's modulus up to 0.933 MPa compared with that of pure GF template (~7.5 kPa). Moreover, co-culture with MC3T3-E1 cells reveals that the GHBs can more effectively promote the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts with good biocompatibility than pure GF and the control group. The superior performance of GHBs suggests their promising applications as multifunctional materials for the repair and regeneration of bone defects.

Controlling Cell Behavior through the Design of Biomaterial Surfaces: A Focus on Surface Modification Techniques

“…They found that substrate surface decoration with nanodiamond particles not only promoted mineralization capability and osteogenic metabolic activities but also hampered protein adsorption and subsequently fibrous capsule formation and progression of chronic inflammation via improvement of the surface hydrophilicity . One of the advantages of using the NP assembly method for modification of scaffolds is that it increases the roughness and hydrophilicity of surface, thereby increasing affinity of adhesive molecules onto the surface of substrates . To achieve this goal, Chen et al prepared SF‐NP‐decorated PLLA composite scaffolds through the phase‐inversion technique using supercritical carbon dioxide.…”

Development and Characterization of Biomimetic Carbonated Calcium-Deficient Hydroxyapatite Deposited on Carbon Fiber Scaffold

“…Biocompatibility and bioactivity tests are currently under progress to assess the biological properties of these novel and promising biomaterials [25,26].…”

Mechanical Properties of Graphene Foam and Graphene Foam—Tissue Composites

“…This table highlights the variation in mechanical properties due to testing mechanism, graphene synthesis methods, and the addition of natural and synthetic polymers. CVD GF has been shown to support the growth of ATDC5 chondroprogenitor cells, C2C12 mouse myoblast cells, [14] MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts [25] , hMSCs, [15]–[17][26] and neural stem cells. [18] The mechanical properties of CVD GF are dependent on both the template structure and the density of graphene deposited on the template.…”

“…[24] GF’s surface chemistry can be altered using various biopolymers to tune its strength and surface energy characteristics to meet the requirements of different cell lines. [17][25][26] The electrical properties of GF allow for electro-mechanical stimulation and it has been shown that the conductivity of GF remains stable with no production of harsh byproducts, unlike conductive polymers. [27] Finally, graphene materials demonstrate antibacterial and antifungal properties in wound infection, suggesting potential for anti-infective properties in tissue engineering applications.…”