Modulation of conductivity of alginate hydrogels containing reduced graphene oxide through the addition of proteins

• Modifying hydrogels in order to enhance their conductivity is an exciting field with applications in cardio and neuro-regenerative medicine. Therefore, we have designed hybrid alginate hydrogels containing uncoated and protein-coated reduced graphene oxide (rGO). We specifically studied the adsorption of three different proteins, BSA, elastin, and collagen, and the outcomes when these protein-coated rGO nanocomposites are embedded within the hydrogels. Our results demon-strate that BSA, elastin, and collagen are adsorbed onto the rGO surface, through a non-spontaneous phenomenon that fits Langmuir and pseudo-second-order adsorption models. Protein-coated rGOs are able to preclude further adsorption of erythropoietin, but not insulin. Collagen showed better adsorption capacity than BSA and elastin due to its hydrophobic nature, although requiring more energy. Moreover, collagen-coated rGO hybrid alginate hydrogels showed an enhancement in conductivity, showing that it could be a promising conductive scaffold for regenerative medicine.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Materialkemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Materials Chemistry (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Alginate

Collagen

Conductivity

Hydrogel

Reduced graphene oxide

alginic acid

bovine serum albumin

collagen type 1

elastin

erythropoietin

graphene oxide

nanocomposite

adsorption

Article

chemical composition

coating (procedure)

cyclic voltammetry

electric conductance

electrochemical analysis

enthalpy

entropy

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

frequency modulation

hydrophobicity

impedance spectroscopy

process design

Raman spectrometry

regenerative medicine

surface area

thermodynamics

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