An Update on Graphene-Based Nanomaterials for Neural Growth and Central Nervous System Regeneration.

Maria Grazia Tupone,Mariano Catanesi,Annamaria Cimini,Vanessa Castelli,Giulia Caioni,Gloria Panella,Elisabetta Benedetti,Michele D’Angelo

doi:10.3390/ijms222313047

Maria Grazia Tupone, Mariano Catanesi + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222313047

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Abstract

Thanks to their reduced size, great surface area, and capacity to interact with cells and tissues, nanomaterials present some attractive biological and chemical characteristics with potential uses in the field of biomedical applications. In this context, graphene and its chemical derivatives have been extensively used in many biomedical research areas from drug delivery to bioelectronics and tissue engineering. Graphene-based nanomaterials show excellent optical, mechanical, and biological properties. They can be used as a substrate in the field of tissue engineering due to their conductivity, allowing to study, and educate neural connections, and guide neural growth and differentiation; thus, graphene-based nanomaterials represent an emerging aspect in regenerative medicine. Moreover, there is now an urgent need to develop multifunctional and functionalized nanomaterials able to arrive at neuronal cells through the blood-brain barrier, to manage a specific drug delivery system. In this review, we will focus on the recent applications of graphene-based nanomaterials in vitro and in vivo, also combining graphene with other smart materials to achieve the best benefits in the fields of nervous tissue engineering and neural regenerative medicine. We will then highlight the potential use of these graphene-based materials to construct graphene 3D scaffolds able to stimulate neural growth and regeneration in vivo for clinical applications.

Highlights

Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the manipulation of novel materials at the nanometer scale to obtain specific properties and functions and to design innovative devices suitable for medical science and biology as well as engineering or physics applications.Those materials that measure between 1 and 100 nm at least for one of their dimensions can be termed “nanomaterials”, and they show remarkable distinction in their physicochemical fundamental properties in comparison with the bulk of the same materials
The levels of toxicity of reduced GO (rGO)/graphene oxide (GO) are affected by chemical functionalization, as shown by PEGylated GO, in which the cytotoxicity decreased, as well as in two-dimensional material coated with bovine serum albumin [63]
Ghas been employed in a huge field of applications, and the regeneration of nervous system tissue is one of the most complex and attractive, providing the possibility to treat neurological disorders and understand their underlying mechanisms

Summary

Introduction

Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the manipulation of novel materials at the nanometer scale to obtain specific properties and functions and to design innovative devices suitable for medical science and biology as well as engineering or physics applications. G has a very large surface area (2630 m2 g−1 for single-layer G), and every sheet is linked by van der Waals forces with 1TPa of stiffness and 130 GPa of the tensile strength [5] It shows excellent electrical conductivity, high thermal conductivity, impermeability to liquids and gas, strong mechanical strength, and good biocompatibility [6,7]. High thermal and electrical conductivity results from the atomic structure and electron distribution of graphene, these properties providing extraordinary optical behaviors, excellent mechanical properties, extreme chemical stability, and a large surface area. Due to this evidence, G can perform as nanoscale building blocks to generate innovative structures complexed with biological molecules or other types of nanomaterials with brand new features [8,9]. In 2004, for the first time, the G was prepared by mechanical exfoliation of graphite; this approach simplified the obtainment of the material, and its use diffusion has made it very popular in the last decade, the size and orientation of the obtained sheets are mostly unmanageable with a lateral size up to tens of microns [8,10]

Graphene and Its Chemical Derivatives

Biomedical Applications

Main Results

Crucial Aspects of Biocompatibility and Toxicity Evaluation

Conclusions