Multifunctional Silk Fibroin/Carbon Nanofiber Scaffolds for In Vitro Cardiomyogenic Differentiation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Energy Harvesting from Simulated Cardiac Motion.

In this proof-of-concept study, cardiomyogenic differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is combined with energy harvesting from simulated cardiac motion in vitro. To achieve this, silk fibroin (SF)-based porous scaffolds are designed to mimic the mechanical and physical properties of cardiac tissue and used as triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) electrodes. The load-carrying mechanism, ß-sheet content, degradation characteristics, and iPSC interactions of the scaffolds are observed to be interrelated and regulated by their pore architecture. The SF scaffolds with a pore size of 379 ± 34 µm, a porosity of 79 ± 1%, and a pore interconnectivity of 67 ± 1% upregulated the expression of cardiac-specific gene markers TNNT2 and NKX2.5 from iPSCs. Incorporating carbon nanofibers (CNFs) enhances the elastic modulus of the scaffolds to 45 ± 3 kPa and results in an electrical conductivity of 0.021 ± 0.006 S/cm. The SF and SF/CNF scaffolds are used as conjugate TENG electrodes and generate a maximum power output of 0.37 × 10-3 mW/m2, with an open-circuit voltage and a short circuit current of 0.46 V and 4.5 nA, respectively, under simulated cardiac motion. A novel approach is demonstrated for fabricating scaffold-based cardiac patches that can serve as tissue scaffolds and simultaneously allow energy harvesting.

Silver nanowire loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) nanocomposite fibers as electroactive scaffolds for skeletal muscle regeneration.

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) due to trauma and tumor removal operations affects millions of people every year. Although skeletal muscle has a natural repair mechanism, it cannot provide self-healing above a critical level of VML. In this study, nanocomposite aligned fiber scaffolds as support materials were developed for volumetric skeletal muscle regeneration. For this purpose, silver nanowire (Ag NW) loaded poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanocomposite fiber scaffolds (PCL-Ag NW) were prepared to mimic the aligned electroactive structure of skeletal muscle and provide topographic and conductive environment to modulate cellular behavior and orientation. A computer-aided rotational wet spinning (RWS) system was designed to produce high-yield fiber scaffolds. Nanocomposite fiber bundles with lengths of 50 cm were fabricated via this computer-aided RWS system. The morphological, chemical, thermal properties and biodegradation profiles of PCL and PCL-Ag NW nanocomposite fibers were characterized in detail. The proliferation behavior and morphology of C2C12 mouse myoblasts were investigated on PCL and PCL-Ag NW nanocomposite fibrous scaffolds with and without electrical stimulation. Significantly enhanced cell proliferation was observed on PCL-Ag NW nanocomposite fibers compared to neat PCL fibers with electrical stimulations of 1.5 V, 3 V and without electrical stimulation.

Facile preparation of nanoparticle based SERS substrates for trace molecule detection.

In this work, we demonstrate that a polished Si wafer surface can be converted to possess strong surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity by spray coating of polyol synthesized colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) at as low as 1% surface coverage. The SERS activity assays of substrate surfaces prepared with different production procedures (spray and spin coating) at different surface coverages are realized using population statistics. The resulting Raman enhancement factors (EFs) are discussed with the help of distance-dependent electromagnetic simulations for single particles and dimers. Statistics on the SERS effect and the corresponding EF calculations show that polyol synthesized AgNPs exhibit extremely strong SERS activity with EFs up to 108 at as low as 1% surface coverage. We discuss in this work that this is possible due to the distinct properties of polyol synthesized AgNPs such as atomically flat surfaces, sharp edges and corners naturally occurring in this synthesis method, which favor strong plasmonic activity. The method can be generalized to convert virtually any surface into a SERS substrate.

Silver nanowire decorated heatable textiles.

The modification of insulating fabrics with electrically conductive nanomaterials has opened up a novel application field. With the help of Joule heating mechanism, conductive fabrics can be used as mobile heaters. In this work, heatable textiles are fabricated using silver nanowires (Ag NWs). Cotton fabrics are decorated with polyol synthesized Ag NWs via a simple dip-and-dry method. The time-dependent thermal response of the fabrics under different applied voltages is investigated. It is found that the fabrics can be heated to 50 °C under an applied power density of as low as 0.05 W cm(-2). Uniform deposition of Ag NWs resulted in the homogeneous generation of heat. In addition, the stability of the fabrics with time and under different bending and washing conditions is examined. Moreover, a simple control circuit is fabricated and integrated in order to demonstrate the high potential of the fabrics for mobile applications. This work provides a roadmap for researchers who would like to work on heatable textiles with metallic NWs.