Single-Chain Atomic Crystals as Extracellular Matrix-Mimicking Material with Exceptional Biocompatibility and Bioactivity

Abstract

In this study, Mo 3 Se 3 − single-chain atomic crystals (SCACs) with atomically small chain diameters of ∼0.6 nm, large surface areas, and mechanical flexibility were synthesized and investigated as an extracellular matrix (ECM)mimicking scaffold material for tissue engineering applications. The proliferation of L-929 and MC3T3-E1 cell lines increased up to 268.4 ± 24.4% and 396.2 ± 8.1%, respectively, after 48 h of culturing with Mo 3 Se 3 − SCACs. More importantly, this extremely high proliferation was observed when the cells were treated with 200 μg mL −1 of Mo 3 Se 3 − SCACs, which is above the cytotoxic concentration of most nanomaterials reported earlier. An ECM-mimicking scaffold film prepared by coating Mo 3 Se 3 − SCACs on a glass substrate enabled the cells to adhere to the surface in a highly stretched manner at the initial stage of cell adhesion. Most cells cultured on the ECM-mimicking scaffold film remained alive; in contrast, a substantial number of cells cultured on glass substrates without the Mo 3 Se 3 − SCAC coating did not survive. This work not only proves the exceptional biocompatible and bioactive characteristics of the Mo 3 Se 3 − SCACs but also suggests that, as an ECM-mimicking scaffold material, Mo 3 Se 3 − SCACs can overcome several critical limitations of most other nanomaterials.

Molecular-Level Interactions between Engineered Materials and Cells

“…Inorganic nanomaterials are promising candidates for fabrication of substrates with different dimensions. A recent study with a one-dimensional (1D) inorganic nanomaterial (molybdenum selenide, Mo 3 Se 3 − ) affirmed the enhanced cellular response to physical properties of materials, such as dimension comparable to ECM molecules, mechanical flexibility, and topography [34]. The authors reported high cell proliferation on 1D Mo 3 Se 3 − single chain atomic crystals (SCACs) (Figure 1).…”

“…The authors reported significant increases of proliferation of L-929 fibroblast and MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cell lines up to 268.4 ± 24.4% and 396.2 ± 8.1%, respectively, at 48 h post culturing with Mo 3 Se 3 − SCACs (Figure 1). 1D Mo 3 Se 3 − SCAC nanowire with negative surface charge, mechanical flexibility, large surface area, and small diameter (approximately 0.6 nm) mimicked ECM and improved the cellular response [34]. Furthermore, others prepared gold (Au) nanomaterials of different sizes and shapes (sphere, star, and nanorod) and demonstrated the effects of the materials on osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) and resulting alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and calcium deposition [35].…”

“…Mo 3 Se 3 − SCAC-based extracellular matrix (ECM) mimicking materials [34]. ( A ) Properties of Mo 3 Se 3 − SCACs to mimic ECM.…”

Multifunctional Heterogeneous Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites Assembled by DNA‐Binding Peptide Anchors

“…However, CNTs treated with surfactants generally exhibit serious issues regarding stability; this is because, most surfactants detach from the CNT surfaces below their critical micelle concentrations owing to the dynamic dispersion phenomenon . Accordingly, passivation with polymers is generally preferred; this is because in addition to forming stable complexes with CNTs via hydrophobic interactions and preserving the intrinsic properties of CNTs, polymers facilitate the introduction of certain FGs on the surface of CNTs . However, considerable effort is required for the chemical modification of these polymers to obtain the desired FGs on the CNT surfaces .…”

Raman scattering of true 1D van der Waals Nb2Se9 nanowires

“…However, the dangling bonds on the edges in 2D materials still act as scattering centers 3 and recombination centers 4 when scaled down to less than a few tens of nanometers. In recent years, interest in 2D vdW materials has expanded to include one‐dimensional (1D) vdW structures comprising vdW‐bonded molecular chains 5–21 . There are two types of 1D vdW structures: a true 1D structure with a pure vdW interchain bond and a quasi‐1D structure with additional non‐vdW bonds among molecular chains.…”