Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Surfaces and Interfaces, cilt.45, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Neural guidance channels (NGCs) are tubular structures placed between distal and proximal ends of a damaged nerve to support nerve regeneration process. Although there are numerous studies focusing on investigation of the effects of submicron (< 1 µm) and micron sized surface features on neural cell functions, studies investigating the effects of surface features in the nano regime (< 100 nm) are limited. Towards this goal, the present study aimed to fabricate carbon nanofiber (CNF) incorporated silk fibroin (SF) films having nano (50 nm) and sub-micron (125 nm) sized surface features to provide both electrical conductivity and nanostructured surface topography. The results showed that nanostructured SF films having CNFs had rougher surface and promoted electrical conductivity. The N2a cells interacting with the nanostructured SF films having CNF secondary phase were viable and proliferated up to 7 days in vitro. Fabrication of 125 nm sized surface features, coupled with CNF incorporation (SC-125) synergistically improved the number of neurite extensions per cell up to 3-folds, and vinculin intensity nearly 2.5-folds compared to the smooth SF films (S-smooth). Furthermore, SC-125 films upregulated c-fos and MAP2 expressions nearly 2.5 and 2-folds compared to the S-smooth films, respectively. The results cumulatively showed that when nanostructured surface topographies and electrical conductivity were coupled for the SF films, favorable biological properties were obtained for NGC applications.