Engineered basement membranes: from in vivo considerations to cell-based assays.

Improvements in the physiological relevance of cell-based assays have been enabled by the development of various interdisciplinary methods. However, due to their complexity, in vivo structures such as basement membranes (BMs), which regulate the phenotype of adherent cells, are still difficult to mimic in vitro. The reconstruction of a physiologically relevant BM is crucially important to develop cell-based assays with the capacity for drug screening and disease modelling. Here, we review the biophysical and biochemical properties of BMs in vivo and their interactions with neighbouring cells. We discuss the current methods used to mimic BM functions in cell-based assays according to the type of targeted applications. In doing so, we examine the advantages and limitations of each method as well as exploring approaches to improve the physiological relevance of engineered or cell-derived BMs in vitro.

Three-Dimensional Graphene: A Biocompatible and Biodegradable Scaffold with Enhanced Oxygenation.

Owing to its high porosity, specific surface area and three-dimensional structure, three-dimensional graphene (3D-C) is a promising scaffold material for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine as well as providing a more biologically relevant platform for living organisms in vivo studies. Recently, its differentiation effects on cells growth and anti-inflammation properties have also been demonstrated. Here, we report a complete study of 3D-C as a fully adequate scaffold for tissue engineering and systematically analyze its biocompatibility and biodegradation mechanism. The metabolic activities of liver cells (HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells) on 3D-C are studied and our findings show that cell growth on 3D-C has high cell viability (> 90%), low lactate production (reduced by 300%) and its porous structure also provides an excellent oxygenation platform. 3D-C is also biodegradable via a 2-step oxidative biodegradation process by first, disruption of domains and lift off of smaller graphitic particles from the surface of the 3D-C and subsequently, the decomposition of these graphitic flakes. In addition, the speed of the biodegradation can be tuned with pretreatment of O2 plasma.