Graphene oxide-conductive polymer nanocomposite coatings obtained by the EPD method as substrates for neurite outgrowth

Abstract

The goal of this study was to investigate the influence of graphene oxide (GO) and polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite coatings deposited on titanium substrates on two types of nerve cells in vitro, namely human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells and primary neuronal cell cultures. Selected physicochemical properties such as morphology, microstructure, surface energy and wettability of the surface of the nanocomposite coatings deposited on a Ti substrate using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) were investigated, followed by biological tests. Moreover, infrared spectroscopy was performed to determine the chemistry of the nanocomposites, while the cathodic charge storage capacity was assessed in the electrochemical characterisation of these coatings.The more sensitive nature of primary cells may have contributed to the observation of significant differences between GO-based coatings, which was not observed with SH-SY5Y cells. Of the four studied coatings, the most promising one was the GO:PANI_16:1 nanocomposite coating. In terms of biocompatibility, cell morphology and neurite length, this coating was the most promising when used in contact with the cell line as well as the primary culture. An interesting phenomenon not seen so far in contact with GO:PANI_16:1 is the tendency of neuronal cell bodies to aggregate in ‘neurosphere-like’ structures.