Neurite outgrowth of dorsal root ganglia neurons is enhanced on aligned nanofibrous biopolymer scaffold with carbon nanotube coating

Nerve regeneration and functional recovery have been a major issue following injury of nerve tissues. Electrospun nanofibers are known to be suitable scaffolds for neural tissue engineering applications. In addition, modified substrates often provide better environments for neurite outgrowth. This study was conducted to determine if multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-coated electrospun poly (L-lactic acid-co-caprolactone) (PLCL) nanofibers improved the neurite outgrowth of rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) expression of PC-12 cells. To accomplish this, the DRG neurons in either uncoated PLCL scaffolds (PLCL group) or MWCNTs-coated PLCL scaffolds (PLCL/CNT group) were cultured for nine days. MWCNTs-coated PLCL scaffolds showed improved neurite outgrowth of DRG neurons. Moreover, FAK expression was up-regulated in the PLCL/CNT group when compared to the PLCL group in a non-time-dependent manner. These findings suggest that MWCNTs-coated nanofibrous scaffolds may be alternative materials for nerve regeneration and functional recovery in neural tissue engineering. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.