Design and evaluation of graphene oxide/collagen scaffolds for their application in tissue engineering

MARÍA VICTORIA CÁCERES; PABLO A. FERNÁNDEZ; GUSTAVO MORALES; NANCY A. SALVATIERRA ; ROMINA COMÍN; MARIANA P. CID

San Juan

Congreso; SABI; 2022

Tissue engineering, intends the reconstruction of lost tissues because of destructive diseases such as inflammation and tumours, and requires three major elements: cells, signalling molecules, and scaffolds. A scaffold is an extracellular artificial matrix with three dimensions and highly porous, printed 3D, able to host and guide cells in their growth and regeneration of tissues. Eventually, collagen hydrogels are the most popular material for cellular scaffolds, used successfully in clinical practice. Graphene oxide, graphene´s precursor in its synthesis, is a graphite oxide mono layer, and even the study of its properties for tissue engineering is still in early stages, big results are expected. The project aim is to design, 3D print and evaluate the features of collagen and graphene oxide scaffolds, for potential applications in tissue engineering. The ink obtained from these materials allowed loyal printings, respecting structures and dimensions. The incorporation of graphene oxide in collagen scaffolds showed a variation in their properties, keeping swelling ratio, decreasing porosity and solubility. By scanning electron microscope (SEM), we distinguished pure graphene oxide from collagen in the scaffold, where we observed the combination of both materials in micro-scale.