3D GRAPHENE/ALGINATE HYDROGELS FOR ARTICULAR APPLICATIONS

Hydrogels have been widely used for articular tissue engineering application, due to their controllable biodegradability and high water content mimicking the biological extracellular matrix. However, they often lack the mechanical support and signaling cues needed to properly guide cells. Graphene and its derivatives have recently emerged as promising materials due to their unique mechanical, physical, chemical proprieties [1]. Although not yet widely used for medical applications, preliminary works suggest that both structural and functional properties of polymeric substrates may be enhanced when combined with graphene oxide (GO) [2]. In this work, reinforced 3D GO/alginate (Alg) hydrogels have been realized and the opportunity of tuning hydrogels mechanical properties in relation to the required physiological needs has been investigated.After preparing GO nanosheets (Sigma Aldrich) aqueous suspension (1 mg/ml) by ultrasonic treatment, alginate (Manugel GMB, FMC Biopolymer) composite solutions were produ...