Graphene oxide containing self-assembling peptide hybrid hydrogels as a potential 3D injectable cell delivery platform for intervertebral disc repair applications.

ABSTRACT: Cell-based therapies have shown significant promise in tissue engineering with one key challenge being the delivery and retention of cells. As a result, significant efforts have been made in the past decade to design injectable biomaterials to host and deliver cells at injury sites. Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration, a major cause of back pain, is a particularly relevant example where a minimally-invasive cellular therapy could bring significant benefits specifically at the early stages of the disease, when a cell-driven process starts in the gelatinous core of the IVD, the nucleus pulposus (NP). In this present study we explore the use of graphene oxide (GO) as nano-filler for the reinforcement of FEFKFEFK (β-sheet forming self-assembling peptide) hydrogels. Our results confirm the p

SUBMITTER: Ligorio C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6582688 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature