Differentiation of stem cells from apical papilla into neural lineage using graphene dispersion and single walled carbon nanotubes.

Stem cell-based therapies are considered a promising treatment modality for many medical conditions. Several types of stem cells with variable differentiation potentials have been isolated from dental tissues, among them stem cells from apical papilla (SCAP). In parallel, new classes of biocompatible nanomaterials have also been developed, including graphene and carbon nanotube-based materials. The aim of the study was to assess whether graphene dispersion (GD) and water-soluble single walled carbon nanotubes (ws-SWCNT), may enhance SCAPs capacity to undergo neural differentiation. SCAPs cultivated in neuroinductive medium supplemented with GD and ws-SWCNT, separately and in combination, were subjected to neural marker analysis by real-time polymerase chain reaction (neurofilament medium [NF-M], neurogenin-2 [ngn-2], β III-tubulin, microtubule-associated protein 2) and immunocytochemistry (NeuN and β III-tubulin). GD, ws-SWCNT, and their combination, had neuro-stimulatory effects on SCAPs, as judged by the production of neural markers. Compared to cells grown in nanomaterial free medium, cells with GD showed higher production of B3T, cells with ws-SWCNT had higher production of ngn-2 and NF-M, while the combination of nanomaterials gave similar levels of both B3T and NF-M as the neuroinductive medium alone, but with the finest neuron-like morphology. In conclusion, GD and ws-SWCNT seem to enhance neural differentiation of SCAP. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 2653-2661, 2018.