Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
Acta Biomater. 2012 Feb;8(2):728-33. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2011.09.038. Epub 2011 Oct 7.
The toxicity of semiconductor materials can significantly hinder their use for in vitro and in vivo applications. Gallium nitride (GaN) is a material with remarkable properties, including excellent chemical stability. This work demonstrated that functionalized and etched GaN surfaces were stable in aqueous environments and leached a negligible amount of Ga in solution even in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Also, GaN surfaces in cell culture did not interfere with nearby cell growth, and etched GaN promoted the adhesion of cells compared to etched silicon surfaces. A model peptide, "IKVAV", covalently attached to GaN and silicon surfaces increased the adhesion of PC12 cells. Peptide terminated GaN promoted greater cell spreading and extension of neurites. The results suggest that peptide modified GaN is a biocompatible and non-toxic material that can be used to probe chemical and electrical stimuli associated with neural interfaces.
半导体材料的毒性可能会严重阻碍其在体外和体内应用。氮化镓（GaN）是一种具有优异性质的材料，包括出色的化学稳定性。本工作表明，功能化和刻蚀的 GaN 表面在水相环境中稳定，即使存在过氧化氢，也仅微量溶出 Ga。此外，在细胞培养中 GaN 表面不会干扰附近细胞的生长，与刻蚀硅表面相比，刻蚀 GaN 促进了细胞的黏附。模型肽“IKVAV”共价连接到 GaN 和硅表面增加了 PC12 细胞的黏附。肽终止的 GaN 促进了细胞铺展和神经突延伸。结果表明，肽修饰的 GaN 是一种生物相容性和无毒的材料，可用于探测与神经界面相关的化学和电刺激。
