Laboratory for Biomaterials, Materials Research Centre, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
Biomaterials. 2013 Sep;34(29):7073-85. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.05.076. Epub 2013 Jun 21.
In designing and developing various biomaterials, the influence of substrate properties, like surface topography, stiffness and wettability on the cell functionality has been investigated widely. However, such study to probe into the influence of the substrate conductivity on cell fate processes is rather limited. In order to address this issue, spark plasma sintered HA-CaTiO3 (Hydroxyapatite-Calcium titanate) has been used as a model material system to showcase the effect of varying conductivity on cell functionality. Being electroactive in nature, mouse myoblast cells (C2C12) were selected as a model cell line in this study. It was inferred that myoblast adhesion/growth systematically increases with substrate conductivity due to CaTiO3 addition to HA. Importantly, parallel arrangement of myoblast cells on higher CaTiO3 containing substrates indicate that self-adjustable cell patterning can be achieved on conductive biomaterials. Furthermore, enhanced myoblast assembly and myotube formation were recorded after 5 days of serum starvation. Overall, the present study conclusively establishes the positive impact of the substrate conductivity towards cell proliferation and differentiation as well as confirms the efficacy of HA-CaTiO3 biocomposites as conductive platforms to facilitate the growth, orientation and fusion of myoblasts, even when cultured in the absence of external electric field.
在设计和开发各种生物材料时，广泛研究了基底性质（如表面形貌、硬度和润湿性）对细胞功能的影响。然而，对于探究基底导电性对细胞命运过程的影响的研究还相当有限。为了解决这个问题，采用火花等离子烧结法制备了 HA-CaTiO3（羟基磷灰石-钛酸钙）作为模型材料系统，以展示导电性变化对细胞功能的影响。由于具有电活性，本研究选择小鼠成肌细胞（C2C12）作为模型细胞系。由于添加了 CaTiO3，HA 的导电性增加，推断出成肌细胞的粘附/生长会系统地增加。重要的是，在含有较高 CaTiO3 的基底上，成肌细胞呈平行排列，表明可以在导电生物材料上实现可自我调节的细胞图案化。此外，在血清饥饿 5 天后，记录到成肌细胞的组装和肌管形成增强。总的来说，本研究明确证实了基底导电性对细胞增殖和分化的积极影响，并证实了 HA-CaTiO3 生物复合材料作为导电平台的功效，即使在没有外加电场的情况下，也能促进成肌细胞的生长、定向和融合。
