Bone Marrow Stem Cells Response to Collagen/Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes-COOHs Nanocomposite Films with Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have attractive biochemical properties such as strong cell adhesion and protein absorption, which are very useful for a cell cultivation scaffold. In this study, collagen/SWNT-COOHs nanocomposite films composed of regenerated fish collagen and SWNTCOOHs (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 weight percent) were prepared by mixing solubilized pepsin-soluble collagen with solutions of SWNT-COOHs. Morphological observation by SEM indicated the homogenous dispersion of SWNT-COOHs in the collagen matrix. The application of FTIR confirmed that the process we applied to prepare the composites did not destroy the native structures of collagen and composites were crosslinked by D-ribose. The biocompatibility was evaluated in vitro using SD rat bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs). Compared with films without transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), films with TGF-β1 had superior performance on promotion of cell growth. Compared with pure collagen film with TGF-β1, SWNT-containing films might promote cellular functions by adsorbing more growth factors. In conclusion, the study suggested that the collagen/SWNTCOOHs nanocomposite films with TGF-β1 were expected to be useful scaffolds in cartilage tissue engineering.