Biodegradable and biocompatible graphene‐based scaffolds for functional neural tissue engineering: A strategy approach using dental pulp stem cells and biomaterials

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Neural tissue engineering aims to restore the function of nervous system tissues using biocompatible cell‐seeded scaffolds. Graphene‐based scaffolds combined with stem cells deserve special attention to enhance tissue regeneration in a controlled manner. However, it is believed that minor changes in scaffold biomaterial composition, internal porous structure, and physicochemical properties can impact cellular growth and adhesion. The current work aims to investigate in vitro biological effects of three‐dimensional (3D) graphene oxide (GO)/sodium alginate (GOSA) and reduced GOSA (RGOSA) scaffolds on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) in terms of cell viability and cytotoxicity. Herein, the effects of the 3D scaffolds, coating conditions, and serum supplementation on DPSCs functions are explored extensively. Biodegradation analysis revealed that the addition of GO enhanced the degradation rate of composite scaffolds. Compared to the 2D surface, the cell viability of 3D scaffolds was higher (p < 0.0001), highlighting the optimal initial cell adhesion to the scaffold surface and cell migration through pores. Moreover, the cytotoxicity study indicated that the incorporation of graphene supported higher DPSCs viability. It is also shown that when the mean pore size of the scaffold increases, DPSCs activity decreases. In terms of coating conditions, poly‐
l‐lysine was the most robust coating reagent that improved cell‐scaffold adherence and DPSCs metabolism activity. The cytotoxicity of GO‐based scaffolds showed that DPSCs can be seeded in serum‐free media without cytotoxic effects. This is critical for human translation as cellular transplants are typically serum‐free. These findings suggest that proposed 3D GO‐based scaffolds have favorable effects on the biological responses of DPSCs.
Mansouri and colleagues explored graphene‐based scaffolds seeded with dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) as a potential neural tissue engineering strategy. Poly‐l‐lysine coated graphene oxide (GO)/sodium alginate (GOSA) scaffolds and its reduced derivatives (rGOSA) demonstrated superior viability and reduction in cytotoxicity of DPSCs in both supplemented and serum‐free conditions. These findings suggest that proposed GO‐based scaffolds have favorable effects on DPSCs which should be further exploited for successful tissue engineering strategies.