A 3D-Printed Multi-Chamber Device Allows Culturing Cells On Buckypapers Coated With PAMAM Dendrimer And Obtain Innovative Materials For Biomedical Applications

Background: The advent of 3D printing technology allowed the realization of custom devicesthat can be used not only in the everyday life but also in the nanotechnology and biomedicalfields. In nanotechnology, the use of bi-dimensional nanostructures based on carbon nanotubes,generally referred as buckypapers, have received considerable attention for their versatility andpotential application in many biomedical fields. Unfortunately, buckypapers are extremelyhydrophobic and cannot be used in aqueous media to culture cells.Methods: A polymeric device able to accommodate buckypapers and facilitate cell growthwas fabricated by using 3D printing technology. We imparted hydrophilicity to buckypapersby coating them with polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers.Results: We found that by using novel techniques such as polymer coating the buckypaperhydrophilicity increased, whereas the use of 3D printing technology allowed us to obtain customdevices that have been used to culture cells on buckypapers for many days. We characterized indetails the morphology of these structures and studied for the first time the kinetic of cellproliferation. We found that these scaffolds, if properly functionalized, are suitable materials togrow cells for long time and potentially employable in the biomedical field.Conclusion: Although these materials are cytotoxic under certain circumstances, we havefound a suitable coating and specific experimental conditions that encourage using buckypapersas novel scaffolds for cell growth and for potential applications in tissue repair and regeneration.