9th International Conference on Materials Science and Nanotechnology for Next Generation, Ankara, Turkey, 22 - 24 September 2022, pp.111
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show excellent morphological, electrical, and mechanical
properties to provide structural reinforcement and electrical conductivity when incorporated
into the engineered tissue scaffolds for possible directing neural cell growth [1]. But CNTs
cannot be dispersed in aqueous medium directly and have been reported to have cytotoxic
effects on cells. Therefore, functionalization with biocompatible materials can be applied to the
CNTs to overcome these drawbacks. Peptide amphiphiles are good candidates to add diverse
bio-functionality and water dispersibility to CNTs [2]. In this study, to obtain conductive,
biocompatible, and extracellular matrix mimicking platforms, CNTs were surface
functionalized through non-covalent interactions by positively (Lauryl-VVAGKK-Am, K2-
PA) and negatively (Lauryl-VVAGEE-Am, E2-PA) charged peptide amphiphiles which
formed hydrogel upon mixing them (Figure 1). The PA/CNT hydrogels were characterized in
terms of structural, morphological, and rheological techniques. Morphological analyses
revealed homogeneous fibrillar network structures for PA/CNT hydrogels. Slightly differences
in viscoelastic properties were observed with the presence of CNTs for PA/CNT hydrogels
compared to plain PA hydrogel.
References:
[1] O. Erol, I. Uyan, M. Hatip, C. Yilmaz, A.B. Tekinay, M. O. Guler, Nanomedicine:
Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine, 14 2018, 2433.
[2] M. Sheikholeslam, M. Pritzker, P. Chen, Carbon, 71 2014, 284.