Control of spatial cell attachment on carbon nanofiber patterns on polycarbonate urethane

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Authors: Piyush Bajaj, Dongwoo Khang, Thomas J Webster

Published Date February 2006 Volume 2006:1(3) Pages 361 - 365

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S

Piyush Bajaj¹, Dongwoo Khang^2,3, Thomas J Webster^1,3
 

¹Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and ²Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; ³Present address: Division of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA

Abstract: A highly aligned pattern of carbon nanofibers (CNF) on polycarbonate urethane (PCU) for tissue engineering applications was created by placing a CNF–ethanol solution in 30µm width copper grid grooves on top of PCU. In vitro results provided the first evidence that fibroblasts and vascular smooth muscle cells selectively adhered to the PCU regions. However, endothelial cells did not display a preference for adhesion to the CNF compared with PCU regions. Previous studies have shown selective adhesion of osteoblasts (bone-forming cells) on CNF compared with PCU regions. Thus, the present results suggest that CNF aligned on PCU may be useful substrates for the control of spatial cell attachment, criteria useful for the design of a wide range of tissue engineering materials, from orthopedic to vascular.

Keywords: carbon nanofibers, polycarbonate urethane, osteoblasts, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, alignment