GRAPHENE ONTO MEDICAL TITANIUM:AN ATOMIC-THICK COATING THAT PROMOTES OSTEOGENIC DIFFERENTIATION IN VITRO AND IN VIVO

Abstract

Commercially pure titanium (CpTi) is widely used for biomedical implants due to its ability to integrate to native bone. Nonetheless, the time needed for the osseointegration is deemed too long. Graphene is a single layer lattice of carbon atoms and known to induces spontaneous osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Here, CpTi was coated with graphene via wet (WGp) and dry(DGp) transfer technique for accelerated bone regeneration in vitro and in vivo. Graphene coating on CpTi was confirmed by Raman, AFM and contact angle and showed higher expression of osteogenic markers than CpTi. MicroCT imaging showed effective bone regeneration on WGp and DGp than CpTi after 4 and 8 weeks. Furthermore, we provide a characterization of extracellular matrix, secreted by MG-63 cell on substrate. Finally, we report a vacuum-assisted dry transfer method to coat graphene onto 3D objects with high shape complexity to widen the clinical application of graphen