title: Three-dimensional graphene foam as a biocompatible and conductive scaffold for neural stem cells.
abstract: Neural stem cell (NSC) based therapy provides a promising approach for neural regeneration. For the success of NSC clinical application, a scaffold is required to provide three-dimensional (3D) cell growth microenvironments and appropriate synergistic cell guidance cues. Here, we report the first utilization of graphene foam, a 3D porous structure, as a novel scaffold for NSCs in vitro. It was found that three-dimensional graphene foams (3D-GFs) can not only support NSC growth, but also keep cell at an active proliferation state with upregulation of Ki67 expression than that of two-dimensional graphene films. Meanwhile, phenotypic analysis indicated that 3D-GFs can enhance the NSC differentiation towards astrocytes and especially neurons. Furthermore, a good electrical coupling of 3D-GFs with differentiated NSCs for efficient electrical stimulation was observed. Our findings implicate 3D-GFs could offer a powerful platform for NSC research, neural tissue engineering and neural prostheses.
authors.affiliation: Suzhou Key Laboratory of Nanobiomedicine & Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Liwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jianwu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Mingliang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Guosheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry; D006108:Graphite / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005740:Gases; D006108:Graphite
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