title: Graphene induces spontaneous cardiac differentiation in embryoid bodies.
abstract: Graphene was embedded into the structure of mouse embryoid bodies (EBs) using the hanging drop technique. The inclusion of 0.2 mg per mL graphene in the EBs did not affect the viability of the stem cells. However, the graphene decreased the stem cell proliferation, probably by accelerating cell differentiation. The graphene also enhanced the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the EBs. Interestingly, the cardiac differentiation of the EB-graphene was significantly greater than that of the EBs at day 5 of culture, as confirmed by high-throughput gene analysis. Electrical stimulation (voltage, 4 V; frequency, 1 Hz; and duration, 10 ms for 2 continuous days) further enhanced the cardiac differentiation of the EBs, as demonstrated by analyses of the cardiac protein and gene expression and the beating activity of the EBs. Taken together, the results demonstrated that graphene played a major role in directing the cardiac differentiation of EBs, which has potential cell therapy and tissue regeneration applications.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G9, Canada. samad.ahadian@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Samad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahadian
authors.affiliation: WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan. matsue@bioinfo.che.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yuanshu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
authors.forename: Shukuyo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Advanced Ceramics Group, Materials Processing Unit, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba 305-0047, Japan.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Estili
authors.affiliation: WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan. matsue@bioinfo.che.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan. matsue@bioinfo.che.tohoku.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shiku
authors.affiliation: WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan. matsue@bioinfo.che.tohoku.ac.jp and Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomokazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D058732:Embryoid Bodies / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006108:Graphite / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D006108:Graphite