Graphene supports in vitro proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of goat adult mesenchymal stem cells: potential for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Current treatments for bone loss injuries involve autologous and allogenic bone grafts, metal alloys and ceramics. Although these therapies have proved useful, they suffer from inherent challenges, and hence, an adequate bone replacement therapy has not yet been found. We hypothesize that graphene may be a useful nanoscaffold for mesenchymal stem cells and will promote proliferation and differentiation into bone progenitor cells. In this study, we evaluate graphene, a biocompatible inert nanomaterial, for its effect on in vitro growth and differentiation of goat adult mesenchymal stem cells. Cell proliferation and differentiation are compared between polystyrene-coated tissue culture plates and graphene-coated plates. Graphitic materials are cytocompatible and support cell adhesion and proliferation. Importantly, cells seeded on to oxidized graphene films undergo osteogenic differentiation in fetal bovine serum-containing medium without the addition of any glucocorticoid or specific growth factors. These findings support graphene's potential to act as an osteoinducer and a vehicle to deliver mesenchymal stem cells, and suggest that the combination of graphene and goat mesenchymal stem cells provides a promising construct for bone tissue engineering.

Two and three-dimensional graphene substrates to magnify osteogenic differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells

“…Graphene-based materials can accelerate the differentiation towards osteoblast-like cells [3][4][5][6]. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cultured on graphene substrates present early maturation and higher degree of mineralization [4,6,13]. Similar phenomena were also observed with the used graphene oxide nanoribbon (GONR) and reduced GONR (rGONR) grids for MSCs culture.…”

“…The remarkable effects of graphene in osteogenic differentiation of stem cells support its introduction as an alternative material for bone regeneration [3][4][5][6]9,[11][12][13][14][15]. Graphene-based materials can accelerate the differentiation towards osteoblast-like cells [3][4][5][6].…”

Graphene‐Based Materials in Regenerative Medicine

“…In a similar study, the graphene's effect on the growth and differentiation of goat adult mesenchymal stem cells (gMSCs) was also investigated. [ 132 ] In recent years, the 3D graphene foams were developed and employed in bone regeneration fi eld. Crowder et al fabricated 3D porous graphene foams by growing graphene on a 3D nickel scaffold and employed the 3D graphene foams as culture substrates for hMSCs.…”

Graphene: A Versatile Carbon-Based Material for Bone Tissue Engineering

“…GO is a highly oxidized form of graphene prepared by oxidation of graphite. This amphiphile compound allows surface functionalization and can be dispersed in aqueous solution, making it an attractive candidate for gene and drug delivery and substrate modification [12, 16, 17, 34–37]. rGO can be further reduced to graphene-like sheets by removing the oxygen-containing groups with the recovery of a conjugated structure [12, 32].…”