Abstract
Carbone nanotubes (CNTs) possess distinct properties, for example, hardness, which is very complementary to biologically relevant soft polymeric and protein materials. Combining CNTs with bio-interfaces leads to obtaining new materials with advanced properties. In this work, we have designed novel organic-inorganic hybrid coatings by combining CNTs with gellan gum (GG) hydrogels. The surface topography of the samples is investigated using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Mechanical properties of synthesized hybrid materials are both assessed at the macro-scale and mapped at the nanoscale. A clear correlation between the CNT concentration and the hardness of the coatings is revealed. Cell culture studies show that effective cell growth is achieved at the CNT concentration of 15 mg/mL. The presented materials can open new perspectives for hybrid bio-interfaces and can serve as a platform for advanced cell culture.
Highlights
We demonstrate that adding Carbone nanotubes (CNTs) to rather soft gellan gum (GG)
Macro- and nano-mechanical properties of the GG-CNTs hydrogels are received by a universal mechanical universal testing machine and atomic force microscopy (AFM)
The Young’s modulus of NMP increases from 0.06 ± 0.02 MPa to 0.64 ± 0.26 MPa for hydrogels made using 0 and 15 mg/mL CNT, respectively; this is supported by the presence of CNTs on the hydrogel surface
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. A wide range of applications in biomedicine has been identified for materials based on CNTs and hydrogels including tissue engineering, drug delivery, theranostics, sensing, and biosensing [19,20,21]. It is possible to design hybrid materials [11] by incorporating various particles or networks [27], for example, microcapsules [28], bioglass particles [29], hydroxyapatite particles [30,31] calcium, and magnesium carbonate particles [32,33,34,35] In this case, it is identified that the cell senses the environment and literally “grabs” hard particles at surfaces [33].
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