Preparation and Characterization of Poly Lactic Acid/Graphene Oxide/Nerve Growth Factor Scaffold with Electrical Stimulation for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration in vitro

Integrating Graphene Oxide-Hydrogels and Electrical Stimulation for Controlled Neurotrophic Factor Encapsulation: A Promising Approach for Efficient Nerve Tissue Regeneration

“…15 Such results corroborate with previous reports that have shown the ability of carbon-based materials, such as reduced graphene oxide, thiol-functionalized rGO, graphene oxide, and carbon nanotubes, to retain growth factors within the material and therefore reduce release rates. 9,11,12,34 The analyses of NGF release under electrical stimulation were evaluated to investigate whether an external electrical excitation would impact and potentially control the release. Stimulated GelMA hydrogels presented cumulative NGF release from 4900 ± 482 pg at day 1 up to 9200 ± 76 pg from day 7, which represents an increase in the release at day 7 of 2.4-times higher when compared to GelMA under unstimulated conditions.…”

“…In this investigation, over 21 days of analysis, GO decreased the release for both neurotrophic factors, 1IGF-1 and BDNF, by at least 25%, showing GO’s ability to immobilize and retain the GFs . In a more recent investigation, a drug delivery system based on GO, polylactic acid (PLA), and NGF coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was developed, where BSA was used to improve NGF stability as well as retain its activity . The system has been shown to allow controlled release of NGF over 40 days of study under different conditions, such as different ratios of BSA/NGF and in the presence or absence of BSA .…”

“…10,13 Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of GO and the ability to respond to external electrical excitations could not only help in the interactions of NGF but also facilitate the neurodifferentiation of cells due to GO sheets' ability to provide a surface to delivery cellular electrical signals. 14−16 Studies have shown that GO has great potential as a neurotrophic factor carrier for application in neuroscience, 9,10,12 where it triggers the neurodifferentiation of cells into neurons promoting neurite formation. Pan investigated the use of GO together with a nanofiber copolymer poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) for local delivery of neurotrophic factors insulin-like growth factor (1IGF-1) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).…”

“…10 In a more recent investigation, a drug delivery system based on GO, polylactic acid (PLA), and NGF coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was developed, where BSA was used to improve NGF stability as well as retain its activity. 9 The system has been shown to allow controlled release of NGF over 40 days of study under different conditions, such as different ratios of BSA/NGF and in the presence or absence of BSA. 9 In these studies, the more gradual release of GFs leads to a higher cellular response in term of increased proliferation and neurodifferentiation.…”

“…9 In these studies, the more gradual release of GFs leads to a higher cellular response in term of increased proliferation and neurodifferentiation. 9,10 This effect has been observed in both PC12 cells 9 and neural stem cells, 10 which have demonstrated greater expression of neurites in response to such slower GFs release. However, both release studies were conducted in unstimulated conditions, where electrical stimulation or any other stimuli form was not applied.…”