MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblast response and differentiation after graphene oxide nanosheet uptake

Nano-graphene oxide (GO) and its functionalized derivatives have aroused a great interest for drug delivery, tissue engineering and photothermal cancer therapy, but their biocompatibility has not yet been fully assessed. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts after the uptake of GO nanosheets (c.a. 400 nm), functionalized with poly( ethylene glycol amine) (PEG) and labelled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). Significant proliferation decrease and apoptosis increase were observed 3 days after incorporation of FITC-PEG-GO by MC3T3-E1 cells. However, alterations,on healthy pre-osteoblast differentiation into cells exhibiting osteoblast phenotype were not observed, as they showed normal alkaline phosphatase levels and matrix mineralization 12 days after nanosheet uptake. The results suggest that 40 mu g/mL concentrations of these nanosheets would not affect the differentiation of healthy pre-osteoblasts, thus these PEG-GO nanosheets have potential to be used for biomedical applications after their internalization, as the induction of local hyperthermia on bone cancer. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.