Carbon nanotubes as scaffold materials in veterinary medicine

What is it about?

With the advances in nanotechnology, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely explored for use as cell culture substrate in tissue engineering applications in human. In veterinary medicine cell based regenerative therapy aided with nanomaterials is in a nascent stage and to the best of our knowledge CNTs have never been experimented as a scaffold component. Considering the potential importance of CNTs as a scaffold material for human and veterinary medicine we designed the study to accomplish fundamental information about the cellular behaviour, cytocompatibility of CNTs and differentiation of canine bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells on CNT substrate. Our findings suggest that carboxylic acid-functionalized CNTs represent a promising scaffold component for future utilization in the selective differentiation of canine MSCs in regenerative medicine.

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Why is it important?

The findings of this study, together with ongoing research on other species, will lead to better understanding of MSC behavior and differentiation, which is crucial for the development of functional tissue on CNT-based scaffolds; furthermore, canine MSCs may be considered as a future experimental model in stem cell-based regenerative medicine.

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