title: Porous three-dimensional carbon nanotube scaffolds for tissue engineering.
abstract: Assembly of carbon nanomaterials into three-dimensional (3D) architectures is necessary to harness their unique physiochemical properties for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. Herein, we report the fabrication and comprehensive cytocompatibility assessment of 3D chemically crosslinked macrosized (5-8 mm height and 4-6 mm diameter) porous carbon nanotube (CNT) scaffolds. Scaffolds prepared via radical initiated thermal crosslinking of single- or multiwalled CNTs (SWCNTs and MWCNTs) possess high porosity (>80%), and nano-, micro-, and macroscale interconnected pores. MC3T3 preosteoblast cells on MWCNT and SWCNT scaffolds showed good cell viability comparable to poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) scaffolds after 5 days. Confocal live cell and immunofluorescence imaging showed that MC3T3 cells were metabolically active and could attach, proliferate, and infiltrate MWCNT and SWCNT scaffolds. SEM imaging corroborated cell attachment and spreading and suggested that cell morphology is governed by scaffold surface roughness. MC3T3 cells were elongated on scaffolds with high surface roughness (MWCNTs) and rounded on scaffolds with low surface roughness (SWCNTs). The surface roughness of scaffolds may be exploited to control cellular morphology and, in turn, govern cell fate. These results indicate that crosslinked MWCNTs and SWCNTs scaffolds are cytocompatible, and open avenues toward development of multifunctional all-carbon scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.
authors: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794-5281.
authors: Gaurav
authors: G
authors: Lalwani
authors: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794-5281.
authors: Anu
authors: A
authors: Gopalan
authors: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794-5281.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: D'Agati
authors: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794-5281.
authors: Jeyantt Srinivas
authors: JS
authors: Sankaran
authors: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794-5281.
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Judex
authors: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794-5281.
authors: Yi-Xian
authors: YX
authors: Qin
authors: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794-5281.
authors: Balaji
authors: B
authors: Sitharaman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon
keywords: carbon nanotubes; cytotoxicity; scaffolds; three dimensional; tissue engineering