Improvement of the Electronic—Neuronal Interface by Natural Deposition of ECM

Abstract

The foreign body reaction to neuronal electrode implants limits potential applications as well as the therapeutic period. Developments in the basic electrode design might improve the tissue compatibility and thereby reduce the foreign body reaction. In this work, the approach of embedding 3D carbon nanofiber electrodes in extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesized by human fibroblasts for a compatible connection to neuronal cells was investigated. Porous electrode material was manufactured by solution coelectrospinning of polyacrylonitrile and polyamide as a fibrous porogen. Moreover, NaCl represented an additional particulate porogen. To achieve the required conductivity for an electrical interface, meshes were carbonized. Through the application of two different porogens, the electrodes’ flexibility and porosity was improved. Human dermal fibroblasts were cultured on the electrode surface for ECM generation and removed afterwards. Scanning electron microscopy imaging revealed a nano fibrous ECM network covering the carbon fibers. The collagen amount of the ECM coating was quantified by hydroxyproline-assays. The modification with the natural protein coating on the electrode functionality resulted in a minor increase of the electrical capacity, which slightly improved the already outstanding electrical interface properties. Increased cell numbers of SH-SY5Y cell line on ECM-modified electrodes demonstrated an improved cell adhesion. During cell differentiation, the natural ECM enhanced the formation of neurites regarding length and branching. The conducted experiments indicated the prevention of direct cell-electrode contacts by the modification, which might help to shield temporary the electrode from immunological cells to reduce the foreign body reaction and improve the electrodes’ tissue integration.

Fully Synthetic 3D Fibrous Scaffolds for Stromal Tissues—Replacement of Animal‐Derived Scaffold Materials Demonstrated by Multilayered Skin

“…[14] Nevertheless, the application of the fibrous scaffold morphology in the stromal layer instead of sponge-like structures improved the more tissue-like behavior of the hdF in our study. It is conceivable, that the composition of the synthesized ECM in the scaffold might be controlled by the selection of tissue cell types, such as organ specific fibroblasts, hMSCs, immune cells, endothelial cells, [58][59][60] and the applied media supplement composition. [61][62][63] This approach could facilitate the generation of a variety of organ specific synthetic-material-based stromal tissues.…”

Advances Focusing on the Application of Decellularized Extracellular Matrix in Periodontal Regeneration

“…The platform of dECM-based scaffolds via 2D coating or hydrogel systems provides an excellent method to assess cellular responses to different dECM, allowing high-throughput analysis and evaluation of rare or inaccessible pathological parameters of dECM [ 77 , 78 ]. Tissue-specific dECM can be used to coat cell culture dishes in ways similar to other materials such as collagen used for dish coating or can polymerize into thin hydrogels for cell culture on tissue engineering constructs, especially in the culture and expansion of stem cells as ECM could better preserve the stemness of stem cells [ 17 , 28 , 79 , 80 , 81 ]. Moreover, ECM was found to mitigate the chronic inflammatory response and avoid the detrimental human immune response to metal implants or synthetic implants [ 82 , 83 ].…”

“…Wang et al detected higher levels of OCN and Nanog in BMSC when seeded on ECM-coated titanium substrates and showed a positive effect of cell sheet-derived ECM coatings on the proliferation and differentiation of BMSCs, which play an important role in bone tissue engineering and could substantially promote periodontal regeneration [ 80 ]. Weigel et al have proved that biomimetic scaffolds coated with extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesized by human fibroblasts demonstrated improved cell adhesion [ 81 ].…”