3D collagen scaffolds coated with multiwalled carbon nanotubes : Initial cell attachment to internal surface

The cell adhesion in a multiwalled carbon nanotube-coated collagen sponge (MWCNT-coated sponge) was investigated. Immediately after seeding, the cells adhered to the inner surface of the MWCNT-coated sponge and a significantly larger number of cells were observed there than for a pure collagen sponge used as control. On the MWCNT-coated sponge, the cells appeared favorable adhesion and spread in the early stages in the center part of the sponge which cells rarely attached without MWCNT-coating. It was suggested that the physical structure of MWCNTs was effective for initial adhesion of cells from the result of serum-free culture. MWCNT-coating makes the material a suitable three-dimensional scaffold for cell culturing, as opposed to other scaffold systems where such an effect is not seen. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2010