Synthesis of nanomaterials having uniform shape and size is a challenging task. Properties exhibited by such substrates would be compatible and homogeneous compared to the average properties displayed by those substrates with heterogeneous size. Herein, we report the synthesis of polypyrrole nanorods (PPy-NRs) of almost uniform size via oxidative chemical polymerization of pyrrole within anodized aluminum oxide nanopores followed by sacrificial removal of the template. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), fourier transformed infra-red (FT-IR) spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and ultra-violet-visible-near infra-red (UV-Vis-NIR) spectra of the substrate were used to analyze the physicochemical properties of as-synthesized PPy-NRs. PPy-NRs treated MC3T3-E1 and PC12 cells exhibited good biocompatibility in CCK-8 and live/dead assays. The assay showed more cell viability on PC12 cell lines. Electrical stimulation through PPy-NRs treated PC12 cells accelerated neuronal differentiation compared to those without electrical stimulation during in vitro cell culture.
Keywords: Aluminum oxide nanopore; Electrical stimulation; Live-dead assay; PC12; Polypyrrole nanorods; Sacrificial removal.
Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.