The Emerging Applications of Graphene Oxide and Graphene in Tissue Engineering - Biomimetics: Advancing Nanobiomaterials and Tissue Engineering - page 289

Table 12.1 Properties of graphene oxide (GO) and graphene and their
current applications in tissue engineering.

Material(s) Properties Application(s) References

GO Biocompatible,

high mechani-
cal (modulus)
and electrical
properties.
Ease of function-
alization with
various chemical
groups

Biocompatible
and chemically
tunable cell cul-
ture substrates/
Elucidation of
stem cell biol-
ogy and fate

[68, 83]

GO/
Graphene

High mechanical
properties

Supplementary
component for
tissue scaffolds

[58, 59]

Graphene High electrical

conductivity

Enhancement of
tissue scaffold
conductivity

[51, 93]

scaffold composites. The rapid increase in publications on the various bio-
medical applications of these materials indicates that these materials hold
great promise in the near future. While some interesting studies have been
performed on various biomedical applications of GO and graphene, par-
ticularly in TE, this area of research is still in its infancy. In particular, cell
studies on graphene and its derivatives have yet to focus on 2D environ-
ment that is far from 3D and physiological conditions. Therefore, rigorous
investigations are needed on 3D tissue regeneration using these materials.
Such engineered tissue structures could also provide valuable platforms
for the drug screening and discovery applications [94].
Obstacles remain before these materials can be widely applied and par-
ticularly before they can be clinically applied in TE products. Note that
the potential advantages of GO and graphene in molecular imaging [95]
could be used to develop noninvasive and real-time imaging and moni-
toring techniques to trace biomolecules, such as drugs, cells, and engi-
neered tissues, in vivo . Therefore, enormous demand exists for in vivo
applications of graphene derivatives provided that these materials are
approved for clinical applications. Important issues for further research
include the mechanisms of cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and the intracel-
lular metabolic effects of GO and graphene, and these issues should be
addressed both in vitro and in vivo . Of particular note is long-term toxicity
and non-biodegradability of these materials, which deserve to be critically