Flake Graphene as an Efficient Agent Governing Cellular Fate and Antimicrobial Properties of Fibrous Tissue Engineering Scaffolds-A Review

Abstract

Although there are several methods for fabricating nanofibrous scaffolds for biomedical applications, electrospinning is probably the most versatile and feasible process. Electrospinning enables the preparation of reproducible, homogeneous fibers from many types of polymers. In addition, implementation of this technique gives the possibility to fabricated polymer-based composite mats embroidered with manifold materials, such as graphene. Flake graphene and its derivatives represent an extremely promising material for imparting new, biomedically relevant properties, functions, and applications. Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO), among many extraordinary properties, confer antimicrobial properties of the resulting material. Moreover, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide promote the desired cellular response. Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine enable advanced treatments to regenerate damaged tissues and organs. This review provides a reliable summary of the recent scientific literature on the fabrication of nanofibers and their further modification with GO/rGO flakes for biomedical applications.

Keywords: antimicrobial properties; electrospun scaffold; graphene modifications; polymeric biomaterials; tissue engineering.

Figure 1

Schematic diagram of the electrospinning setup. Adapted from “FullTemplateName”, by BioRender.com (2022) [28].

Figure 2

Chemical structure of pristine graphene (a) and its derivatives: graphene oxide GO (b) and reduced graphene oxide rGO (c).

Figure 3

Publications per year on “graphene” in the field of biomaterials. Data retrieved from Web of Science.

Figure 4

SEM images of E. coli bacteria in (a,b) saline solution, (c,d) in GO dispersion (40 µg/mL), (e,f) in rGO dispersion (40 µg/mL) after 2 h incubation. Reprinted with permission from [75]. Copyright 2011 American Chemical Society.

Figure 5

A. niger fungi growth in rGO dispersions with different concentrations (0–500 μg/mL) after 7-day incubation. Reprinted from [81] with permission from Elsevier.

Figure 6

Antiviral activity of GO (6 μg/mL) on PK-15 cells (A) and Vero cells (B). (A) Cells infected with PRV of 200 or 2000 pfu. (B) Cells infected with PEDV of 200 or 2000 pfu. Clear spots represent the amount of virus. Mock-infected cells serve as a control. Reprinted with permission from [89]. Copyright 2015 American Chemical Society.

Figure 7

Images of nanofibrous scaffolds with inoculated cells stained with DAPI: (a) without modification, (b) modified with GO, (c) modified with rGO. Reproduced with permission [94] © IOP Publishing.

Figure 8

Confocal microscopy images (a,b) of fibrous scaffolds with ATDC5 cells after three-day culture with piezoelectric stimulation. Reprinted from [98] with permission from Elsevier.

Figure 9

Confocal microscopy images of fibrous scaffolds with ENCP cells after cell culture: (a,b) fabricated from polycaprolactone-gelatin, then placed in rGO solution, (c,d) in which rGO was also already added to the polymer PG matrix, (e) chart of the area covered by live and dead ENCP cells on the fibrous materials. Reprinted with permission from [99]. Copyright 2022 American Chemical Society.

Figure 10

Images of mMSC and PC12-L cell proliferation on PCL scaffolds modified by GO, after 3 days of cell culture with different concentrations of GO (wt%). Reprinted from [100] with permission from Elsevier.

Figure 11

Images of immunofluorescence staining of S-100 and NF-200 in the regenerated nerve tissues (autograft, unmodified scaffold, scaffold modified by rGO). Scale bar equals 50 μm. Reprinted from [101] with permission from Elsevier.

Figure 12

Microscopic images of fibroblasts on fibrous materials, reprinted from [104].