Macroporous nanowire nanoelectronic scaffolds for synthetic tissues

• Published in: Nature materials 2012-11, Vol.11 (11), p.986-994
• Main Authors: Tian, Bozhi, Liu, Jia, Dvir, Tal, Jin, Lihua, Tsui, Jonathan H., Qing, Quan, Suo, Zhigang, Langer, Robert, Kohane, Daniel S., Lieber, Charles M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/301/357/1016; 639/301/54; 639/925/350/1057; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Chemical synthesis; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Electronics; Humans; Hybrids; Materials Science; Microenvironments; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular - cytology; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; Nanostructure; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology - instrumentation; Nanowires; Nanowires - chemistry; Optical and Electronic Materials; Porosity; Porous materials; Scaffolds; Silicon - chemistry; Surgical implants; Three dimensional; Tissue Engineering; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry; Tissues; Transistors, Electronic
• ISSN: 1476-1122; 1476-4660
• DOI: 10.1038/nmat3404

The development of three-dimensional (3D) synthetic biomaterials as structural and bioactive scaffolds is central to fields ranging from cellular biophysics to regenerative medicine. As of yet, these scaffolds cannot electrically probe the physicochemical and biological microenvironments throughout their 3D and macroporous interior, although this capability could have a marked impact in both electronics and biomaterials. Here, we address this challenge using macroporous, flexible and free-standing nanowire nanoelectronic scaffolds (nanoES), and their hybrids with synthetic or natural biomaterials. 3D macroporous nanoES mimic the structure of natural tissue scaffolds, and they were formed by self-organization of coplanar reticular networks with built-in strain and by manipulation of 2D mesh matrices. NanoES exhibited robust electronic properties and have been used alone or combined with other biomaterials as biocompatible extracellular scaffolds for 3D culture of neurons, cardiomyocytes and smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, we show the integrated sensory capability of the nanoES by real-time monitoring of the local electrical activity within 3D nanoES/cardiomyocyte constructs, the response of 3D-nanoES-based neural and cardiac tissue models to drugs, and distinct pH changes inside and outside tubular vascular smooth muscle constructs. Three-dimensional bioactive scaffolds can support tissue growth for studies in cellular biophysics and regenerative medicine. Such scaffolds have now been integrated with semiconductor nanowires to probe their porous interior, allowing for real-time monitoring of signals such as the response of neural and cardiac tissue models to drugs.