Preparation of Carbon Nanotube-alginate Nanocomposite Gel for Tissue Engineering

• Published in: Dental Materials Journal Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 719 - 725
• Main Authors: KAWAGUCHI, Minoru, FUKUSHIMA, Tadao, HAYAKAWA, Toru, NAKASHIMA, Naotoshi, INOUE, Yusuke, TAKEDA, Shoji, OKAMURA, Kazuhiko, TANIGUCHI, Kunihisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Japanese Society for Dental Materials and Devices 2006
• Subjects: Absorbable Implants; Absorption; Alginate; Alginates - chemical synthesis; Alginates - toxicity; Alginates - ultrastructure; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Carbon nanotube; Cell Line; Compressive Strength; Cross-Linking Reagents; Elasticity; Foreign-Body Reaction; Humans; Hydrogels - chemical synthesis; Hydrogels - toxicity; Implants, Experimental; Male; Materials Testing; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Nanocomposites - toxicity; Nanocomposites - ultrastructure; Nanotubes, Carbon - toxicity; Nanotubes, Carbon - ultrastructure; Osteoblasts - drug effects; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Scaffold material; Tissue Engineering - instrumentation
• ISSN: 0287-4547; 1881-1361
• DOI: 10.4012/dmj.25.719

A novel scaffold material based on an alginate hydrogel which contained carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was prepared, and its mechanical property and biocompatibility evaluated. Soluble CNTs were prepared with acid treatment and dispersed in sodium alginate solution as a cross-linker. After which, the mechanical property (elastic deformation), saline sorption, histological reaction, and cell viability of the resultant nanocomposite gel (CNT-Alg gel) were evaluated. The CNT-Alg gel showed faster gelling and higher mechanical strength than the conventional alginate gel. Saline sorption amount of freeze-dried CNT-Alg gel was equal to that of the alginate gel. In terms of histological evaluation and cell viability assay, CNT-Alg gel exhibited a mild inflammatory response and non-cytotoxicity. These results thus suggested that CNT-Alg gel could be useful as a scaffold material in tissue engineering with the sidewalls of CNTs acting as active sites for chemical functionalization.