Graphene materials have attracted special attention because of their electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, and favorable biocompatibility. Although various methods have been developed for fabricating micro/nano conductive fibrous scaffolds, it is still challenging to fabricate the three-dimensional (3D) graphene fibrous scaffolds. Herein, we developed a new method, termed as microfluidic 3D printing technology (M3DP), to fabricate 3D graphene oxide (GO) microfibrous scaffolds with an adjustable fiber length, fiber diameter, and scaffold structure by integrating the microfluidic spinning technology with a programmable 3D printing system. GO microfibrous scaffolds were then transformed into conductive reduced graphene oxide (rGO) microfibrous scaffolds by hydrothermal reduction. Our results demonstrated that the fabricated 3D fibrous graphene scaffolds exhibited tunable structures, maneuverable mechanical properties, and good electrical conductivity and biocompatibility, as reflected by the adhesion and proliferation of SH-SY5Y cells on the graphene microfibrous scaffolds in an obviously oriented manner. The developed M3DP would be a powerful tool for fabricating 3D graphene microfibrous scaffolds for electroactive tissue regeneration and drug-screening applications.
Keywords: 3D printing; graphene fiber; graphene oxide; microfluidic spinning; tissue engineering.