Three-dimensional graphene foam as a biocompatible and conductive scaffold for neural stem cells

TLDR

Neural stem cell therapy holds promise for neural regeneration, but effective clinical application requires a 3D scaffold that supports cell growth and guidance. The study introduces graphene foam, a 3D porous structure, as a novel in‑vitro scaffold for neural stem cells. Three‑dimensional graphene foams supported NSC growth, maintained high proliferation (↑Ki67), promoted differentiation into astrocytes and neurons, enabled efficient electrical coupling for stimulation, and thus represent a powerful platform for neural tissue engineering and prostheses.

Abstract

Neural stem cell (NSC) based therapy provides a promising approach for neural regeneration. For the success of NSC clinical application, a scaffold is required to provide three-dimensional (3D) cell growth microenvironments and appropriate synergistic cell guidance cues. Here, we report the first utilization of graphene foam, a 3D porous structure, as a novel scaffold for NSCs in vitro. It was found that three-dimensional graphene foams (3D-GFs) can not only support NSC growth, but also keep cell at an active proliferation state with upregulation of Ki67 expression than that of two-dimensional graphene films. Meanwhile, phenotypic analysis indicated that 3D-GFs can enhance the NSC differentiation towards astrocytes and especially neurons. Furthermore, a good electrical coupling of 3D-GFs with differentiated NSCs for efficient electrical stimulation was observed. Our findings implicate 3D-GFs could offer a powerful platform for NSC research, neural tissue engineering and neural prostheses.