Elucidation of the Role
of Carbon Nanotube Patterns
on the Development of Cultured Neuronal Cells
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Abstract
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) promise various novel neural
biomedical
applications for interfacing neurons with electronic devices or to
design appropriate biomaterials for tissue regeneration. In this study,
we use a new methodology to pattern SiO<sub>2</sub> cell culture surfaces
with double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs). In contrast to homogeneous
surfaces, patterned surfaces allow us to investigate new phenomena
about the interactions between neural cells and CNTs. Our results
demonstrate that thin layers of DWNTs can serve as effective substrates
for neural cell culture. Growing neurons sense the physical and chemical
properties of the local substrate in a contact-dependent manner and
retrieve essential guidance cues. Cells exhibit comparable adhesion
and differentiation scores on homogeneous CNT layers and on a homogeneous
control SiO<sub>2</sub> surface. Conversely, on patterned surfaces,
it is found that cells preferentially grow on CNT patterns and that
neurites are guided by micrometric CNT patterns. To further elucidate
this observation, we investigate the interactions between CNTs and
proteins that are contained in the cell culture medium by using quartz
crystal microbalance measurements. Finally, we show that protein adsorption
is enhanced on CNT features and that this effect is thickness dependent.
CNTs seem to act as a sponge for culture medium elements, possibly
explaining the selectivity in cell growth localization and differentiation