Fabrication of carboxylic graphene oxide-composited polypyrrole film for neurite growth under electrical stimulation

Abstract

An aligned composite film was fabricated via the deposition of carboxylic graphene oxide (C-GO) and polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles on aligned poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) fiber-films (named as C-GO/PPy/PLLA), which has the core (PLLA)–sheath (C-GO/PPy) structure, and the composition of C-GO (~4.8 wt.% of PPy sheath) significantly enhanced the tensile strength and the conductivity of the PPy/PLLA film. Especially, after 4 weeks of immersion in the PBS solution, the conductivity and the tensile strength of C-GO/PPy/PLLA films still remained ~6.10 S/cm and 28.9 MPa, respectively, which could meet the need of the sustained electrical stimulation (ES) therapy for nerve repair. Moreover, the neurite length and the neurite alignment were significantly increased through exerting ES on C-GO/PPy/PLLA films due to their sustained conductivity in the fluid of cell culture. These results indicated that C-GO/PPy/PLLA with sustained conductivity and mechanical property possessed great potential of nerve repair by exerting lasting-ES.

Keywords

sustained conductivity / electrical stimulation / carboxylic graphene oxide / polypyrrole

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