Abstract
Neural tissue engineering is a research field aimed at rebuilding neurological defects resulting from severe trauma, vascular impairment, syringomyelia, spinal stenosis, malignant and benign tumors, or transverse myelitis. Of particular interest, neural stem cells (NSCs) and the effective differentiation and proliferation thereof are attractive research areas that have yielded widespread utility for implants or neural scaffold materials. Graphene and its derivatives have more effective and efficient physical, chemical, and biological abilities than other nanomaterials, and may act as new coating materials to promote neuronal proliferation and differentiation. Therefore, here, we review the recent progress of studies that examine the effect of graphene-based materials on NSCs. We specifically review how graphene and its derivatives influence NSC adhesion, differentiation, and proliferation. We also discuss the risks of graphene-based materials, including their anti-inflammatory effects, in the realm of neural tissue engineering as well as current challenges facing the field today.
Highlights
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating and devastating physical dysfunction that is considered a major global issue for people of all ages [1]
The effect of graphene oxide (GO) size on the cellular fate of mouse neural stem cells (NSCs) was studied [129], and the results showed that the ability of mNSCs to self-renew was improved by GO with a hydrodynamic size of 663 nm
Over the previous few decades, the exploration of graphene has progressed greatly for tissue engineering applications. Both graphene and its derivatives have been used as biocompatible substrates for promoting the adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of neural stem cells
Summary
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating and devastating physical dysfunction that is considered a major global issue for people of all ages [1]. Graphene and related materials have high mechanical strength, high specific surface area, and low density compared to other nanomaterials Their uniquely high elasticity, flexibility, and adaptability to multisurface morphology make them suitable for structural enhancement of tissue engineering materials and improve tissue adhesion, differentiation, and cell function. This group demonstrated that cells on a bare glass coverslip proliferated worse than those on a glass coverslip having FBS-covered graphene These results indicate that a specific surface property related to graphene-patterned substrates provides biomimetic cues for promoting neural cell differentiation. GP6 scaffolds reduced the number of activated astrocytes between week 3 and week 7 in both tissue and implants [144]
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