Premnath Priyatha, Tan Bo, Venkatakrishnan Krishnan
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University , Toronto, Canada .
Biores Open Access. 2012 Oct;1(5):231-8. doi: 10.1089/biores.2012.0254.
Nanostructured silicon has proven to be a promising candidate in tissue engineering. However, recent research on fabrication of silicon scaffolds has been limited to expensive, complex, and time-consuming lithographic techniques that require the addition of caustic chemicals. Moreover, these techniques generate structures that do not truly mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). Therefore, we introduce a novel, interlinked, silicon nano-network fabricated by MHz ultrafast laser synthesis. We demonstrate that ultrafast laser synthesis is simple, rapid, free of any chemical additions, and can be carried out under ambient conditions. Variation in laser parameters resulted in an alteration in the pore size and density of the silicon fibrous network. Microscopic analysis revealed a highly charged silicon network with elevated adhesion forces. In vitro bioactivity tests indicate the precipitation of bone-like apatite in just 3 days. Cell proliferation studies on the silicon nano-network present a 300% increase in comparison to its bulk counterpart. Scanning electron microscopy analysis shows healthy migration and attachment of cells on the silicon nano-network. This study points to a correlation between elevated cell proliferation and the ECM-like structure of the silicon nano-network. This ECM-like silicon nano-network suggests significant potential not only in tissue engineering and regeneration but also in other biomedical applications such as biosensor detection.
纳米结构硅已被证明是组织工程领域中一个很有前景的候选材料。然而，最近关于硅支架制造的研究仅限于昂贵、复杂且耗时的光刻技术，这些技术需要添加腐蚀性化学物质。此外，这些技术所生成的结构并不能真正模拟细胞外基质（ECM）。因此，我们引入了一种通过兆赫兹超快激光合成制造的新型、相互连接的硅纳米网络。我们证明超快激光合成简单、快速，无需添加任何化学物质，并且可以在环境条件下进行。激光参数的变化导致了硅纤维网络孔径和密度的改变。微观分析揭示了一个具有增强粘附力的高电荷硅网络。体外生物活性测试表明，仅在3天内就有类骨磷灰石沉淀。对硅纳米网络的细胞增殖研究表明，与块状硅相比，细胞增殖增加了300%。扫描电子显微镜分析显示细胞在硅纳米网络上健康迁移和附着。这项研究指出细胞增殖增加与硅纳米网络的类ECM结构之间存在关联。这种类ECM的硅纳米网络不仅在组织工程和再生方面，而且在其他生物医学应用（如生物传感器检测）中都显示出巨大潜力。
