Conductive Graphene Oxide Hydrogels Reduced and Bridged by L-Cysteine to Support Cell Adhesion and Growth
writer:Yifan Wang, Ying Xiao, Guorong Gao, Jing Chen, Qiang Wang, Ruixia Hou, Li Liu and Jun
keywords:Graphene oxide, hydrogel, L-cysteine, cell
source:期刊
specific source:Journal of Materials Chemistry
Issue time:2016年
Graphene composite hydrogels have wide potential applications as biomaterials. Herein, L-cysteine was used to reduce graphene oxide (GO) into hydrogels. Systematic investigations by FTIR, Raman, TEM, and other methods reveal that the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets are likely bridged by L-cysteine molecules, forming porous hydrogels with the rGO nanosheets stacking into layered structures on the walls. Such layered structures, as well as the reduction, are critical for the improvement in conductivity by four to five orders of magnitude in comparison to graphene oxide. In vitro cell culture experiments demonstrate excellent cell adhesion and growth on these reduced graphene oxide hydrogels. These conductive rGO hydrogels may find applications for electrical stimulation to cell adhesion and growth.