Graphene oxide-functionalized nanofibre composite matrices to enhance differentiation of hippocampal neuronal cells

Abstract

During the last decade, graphene-family nanomaterials have been widely utilized, forming a composite with various polymers for potential applications in tissue engineering and regeneration due to their excellent physicochemical characteristics and biocompatibility. Above all, these graphene-family nanomaterials allow polymers to have novel biofunctional properties, while maintaining their intrinsic character. By virtue of this bioactivity of nanocomposites, they are able to modulate cellular behaviours such as cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation. In this study, the nanofibre composite matrices of poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) and laminin (Lam) functionalized with graphene oxide (GO) (PLCL/Lam/GO) were prepared via electrospinning to explore whether they have the potential to enhance the differentiation of hippocampal neuronal cells. The PLCL/Lam/GO nanofibre matrices could support the adhesion and proliferation of hippocampal neuronal cells by providing the extracellular matrix-like structure. Furthermore, these PLCL/Lam/GO composite matrices were found to promote neurite outgrowth and alignment from hippocampal neuronal cells through providing optimal microenvironments for neuronal differentiation. The underlying mechanism of this phenomenon was proposed according to the scenario in which neurite outgrowth was guided by biofunctional cues, such as Lam and GO, with nanofibre-mediated topographical cues, which upregulated the expression of some specific genes (i.e., DCX, MAP2 and Nestin) closely related to cytoskeletal interactions. In conclusion, it is suggested that these nanofibre composite matrices can be exploited to craft a range of strategies for the development of novel scaffolds to accelerate neural regeneration.