Etched 3D-Printed Polycaprolactone Constructs Functionalized with Reduced Graphene Oxide for Enhanced Attachment of Dental Pulp-Derived Stem Cells

Abstract

A core challenge in the field of tissue engineering is the ability to establish pipeline workflows for the design and characterization of scaffold technologies with clinically translatable attributes. The parallel development of biomaterials and stem cell populations represents a self-sufficient and streamlined approach for establishing such a pipeline. In the current study, rat dental pulp stem cell (rDPSC) populations were established to assess functionalized polycaprolactone (PCL) constructs. Initial optimization and characterization of rDPSC extraction and culture conditions confirmed that cell populations were readily expandable and demonstrated surface markers associated with multi-potency. Subset populations were transduced to express DsRed fluorescent protein as a mechanism of tracking both cells and cell-derived extracellular matrix content on complex scaffold architecture. Thermoplastic constructs included reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as an additive to promote cellular attachment and were further modified by surface etching a weak acetic acid solution to roughen surface topographical features, which was observed to dramatically improve cell surface coverage in vitro. Based on these data, the modified rGO-functionalized PCL constructs represent a versatile platform for bone tissue engineering, capable of being applied as a standalone matrix or in conjunction with bio-active payloads such as DPSCs or other bio-inks.

The 3-dimensional printing for dental tissue regeneration: the state of the art and future challenges

“…Nevertheless, the lack of cell-anchoring site and hydrophobic surface lead to the low bioactivity of synthetic polymers ( Place et al, 2009 ). Various attempts have been made for the optimization of biological properties, including surface modification, biomaterial coating, introduction of functional groups and so on ( Bow et al, 2021 ; Feng et al, 2021 ; Park et al, 2021 ).…”

Characterization of a Stemness-Optimized Purification Method for Human Dental-Pulp Stem Cells: An Approach to Standardization

“…This may result in nutrient deficits in coronal regions [ 6 ] and hinders the therapeutic success. Nonetheless, many cell- or biomaterial-based therapeutic approaches have been presented in the literature [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Exemplarily, Liu et al recently described a dopamine-modified, hyaluronic-acid based biopolymer, which enables efficient adhesion of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) for dental pulp regeneration and dentin synthesis [ 12 ].…”