Enhanced proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells on biomineralized three-dimensional graphene foams

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) hold great promise for bone regeneration, yet the direction of MSC proliferation and induction of MSC differentiation remain challenging. Very recently, graphene provides a novel substrate for cell culture. Here, we report the utilization of mineralized three dimensional graphene (3DG) scaffolds for hMSC growth. The nano-structured hydroxyapatite (HA) particles decorated 3D graphene (HA-3DG) scaffolds were developed by mineralization in 10 times concentrated simulated body fluid (10SBF) containing 10 mM of HCO3−. The HA-3DG scaffolds showed higher roughness and cell proliferation compared with the 2D graphene films. More importantly, the mineralized 3DG scaffolds exhibited faster osteogenic commitment and stronger osteogenic differentiation (13.7, 10.9 and 1.89 fold at 7d, 10d and 14d respectively from the western blot analysis). These findings demonstrated the potential of mineralized 3DG scaffold as a promising platform for hMSC culture and bone regeneration.