Biocompatibility of hydroxyethyl cellulose/glycine/RuO2 composite scaffolds for neural-like cells

Mostafa Mabrouk; Enas Ismail; Hanan Beherei; Mahmoud T Abo-Elfadl; Zeinab A Salem; Diganta B Das; Nermeen AbuBakr

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.04.190

Biocompatibility of hydroxyethyl cellulose/glycine/RuO₂ composite scaffolds for neural-like cells

Int J Biol Macromol. 2022 Jun 1;209(Pt B):2097-2108. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.04.190. Epub 2022 Apr 30.

Authors

Mostafa Mabrouk¹, Enas Ismail², Hanan Beherei³, Mahmoud T Abo-Elfadl⁴, Zeinab A Salem⁵, Diganta B Das⁶, Nermeen AbuBakr⁷

Affiliations

¹ Refractories, Ceramics and Building Materials Department, Advanced Materials, Technology and Mineral Resources Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33El Bohouth St. (former EL Tahrir St.), Dokki, Giza, P.O.12622, Egypt. Electronic address: mostafamabrouk.nrc@gamail.com.
² Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town 7505, South Africa; Physics Department, Faculty of Science (Girl's branch), Al Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt.
³ Refractories, Ceramics and Building Materials Department, Advanced Materials, Technology and Mineral Resources Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33El Bohouth St. (former EL Tahrir St.), Dokki, Giza, P.O.12622, Egypt. Electronic address: hananh.beherei@gmail.com.
⁴ Cancer Biology and Genetics Laboratory, Centre of Excellence for Advanced Sciences, National Research Centre, 33 El-Buhouth Street, Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt; Biochemistry Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
⁵ Oral Biology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Ahram Canadian University, Cairo, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE113TU, Leicestershire, UK.
⁷ Oral Biology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

PMID: 35504415
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.04.190

Abstract

Fabrication of scaffolds for nerve regeneration is one of the most challenging topics in regenerative medicine at the moment, which is also interlinked with the development of biocompatible substrates for cells growth. This work is targeted towards the development of green biomaterial composite scaffolds for nerve cell culture applications. Hybrid scaffolds of hydroxyethyl cellulose/glycine (HEC/Gly) composite doped with different concentrations of green ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) were synthesized and characterized via a combination of different techniques. X-rays diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses showed a crystalline nature for all the samples with noticeable decrease in the peak intensity of the fabricated scaffolds as compared to that for pure glycine. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) tests revealed an increase in the vibrational bands of the synthesized RuO₂ containing scaffolds which are related to the functional groups of the natural plant extract (Aspalathuslinearis) used for RuO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) synthesis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results revealed a 3D porous structure of the scaffolds with variant features attributed to the concentration of RuO₂ NPs in the scaffold. The compressive test results recorded an enhancement in mechanical properties of the fabricated scaffolds (up to 8.55 MPa), proportionally correlated to increasing the RuO₂ NPs concentration in HEC/Gly composite scaffold. Our biocompatibility tests revealed that the composite scaffolds doped with 1 and 2 ml of RuO₂ demonstrated the highest proliferation percentages (152.2 and 135.6%) compared to control. Finally, the SEM analyses confirmed the impressive cells attachments and differentiation onto the scaffold surfaces as evidenced by the presence of many neuron-like cells with apparent cell bodies and possessing few short neurite-like processes. The presence of RuO₂ and glycine was due to their extraordinary biocompatibility due to their cytoprotective and regenerative effects. Therefore, we conclude that these scaffolds are promising for accommodation and growth of neural-like cells.

Keywords: 3D scaffold; Glycine; Green RuO(2); Hydroxyethyl cellulose; Neural-like cells.

MeSH terms

Biocompatible Materials / chemistry
Biocompatible Materials / pharmacology
Cellulose / chemistry
Cellulose / pharmacology
Glycine* / pharmacology
Neurons
Porosity
Ruthenium Compounds / chemistry*
Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
Tissue Engineering
Tissue Scaffolds* / chemistry

Substances

Biocompatible Materials
Ruthenium Compounds
Cellulose
Glycine