Osteogenic differentiation of human adipose derived stem cells on chemically crosslinked carbon nanomaterial coatings.

Carbon nanomaterial coatings have been widely investigated for many biomedical applications including bone tissue engineering. Current methods to fabricate carbon nanomaterial coatings are limited by specific substrate requirements and the lack of strong bonds between the nanomaterials. Furthermore, few studies compare the effect of carbon nanoparticle architecture on stem cell differentiation and mineralization for osteogenic differentiation. Herein, we report a study comparing chemically crosslinked carbon nanotubes (of various diameters), graphene nanoplatelets, and graphene nanoribbons coatings for adipose derived stem cell differentiation toward an osteogenic lineage. We observed greatest autodeposition of calcium on graphene nanoribbon surfaces, while multiwalled carbon nanotubes of high diameter had the greatest influence on stem cell fate (by alkaline phosphatase activity, calcium deposition, and osteocalcin measurements). Studies indicate the cause for multiwalled carbon nanotube related stem cell differentiation, may be related to early timepoint toxicity as indicated by lactose dehydrogenase release. These results indicate suggestions for orthopedic tissue engineering applications for carbon nanomaterial coatings. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 1189-1199, 2018.