Exploration Of The Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes' Influence For Cartilage Repair

Carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotubes has only been noted for its biocompatibility and excellent mechanical properties. Nobody has examined whether or not it facilitate repair of cartilage defects. A kind of 3-D carbon nanotubes-based composite scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering was developed. Moreover, its physicochemical and biological indexes, such as microstructure, mechanical properties, cell proliferation and cytocompatibility were examined. All these indexes manifested that the composite scaffolds with carbon nanotubes processed smaller pore opening, higher compression strength, better cell proliferation, and no cytotoxicity. Animal experiments further showed that the addition of carbon nanotubes at 0.5 wt% was most beneficial to cartilage repair than others. In conclusion, the study suggested that 0.5 wt% CNTs-based composite scaffold has a promising prospect in cartilage tissue engineering.