Dual Architecture and Bioenergetics of Cellulose-Graphene Oxide-Arginine Aerogel Supports Stem Cell Bioactivity for Cartilage Regeneration

Abstract

The avascular nature of cartilage tissue limits the self-regeneration ability of the tissue to counter any damage and this has become a substantial burden to health of individuals. As a result, there is a high demand to repair and regenerate cartilage; several methods have been developed, primarily based on tissue-engineering techniques. So far, emphasis has been given to modifying the scaffold’s surface chemistry, crosslinking, and porosity to induce stem cell differentiation into chondrocytes to deposit thick cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM). However, most of these studies produced either microporous or nano-fibrous scaffolds to regenerate cartilage, but they lack biomimetic dual architecture of microporous construct with nano-fibrous interconnected structure like the native cartilage. Over the years, researchers have designed scaffolds to mimic tissue microenvironment with key metabolic components to promote efficient regeneration of tissue. Thus, scaffolds with dual architecture of microporous construct comprising of a nano-fibrous interconnected networks like native cartilage embedded with metabolite sources are necessary for a successful engineering of cartilage regeneration. Hence, in the present work, we have developed a biomimetic elastic, micro porous construct with nano-fibrous interconnection network of cellulose aerogel reinforced with arginine amino acid-functionalized graphene oxide for cartilage regeneration. The designed dual architectured aerogel loaded with bioenergetics provided multifunctionality via biomimetic morphology, enhanced mechanical stability, and cellular energetics to address the need for regeneration of cartilage tissues.