Photoresist Derived Carbon for Growth and Differentiation of Neuronal Cells

Apoptosis or necrosis of neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) is the hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The inability to regenerate in CNS offers little hope for naturally repairing the damaged neurons. However, with the rapid development of new technologies, regenerative medicine offers great promises to patients with these disorders. Among many events for further advancement of regenerative medicine, extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a critical role for cellular migration and differentiation. To develop a biocompatible and electrically conductive substrate that can be potentially used to promote growth and regeneration of neurons and to record intracellular and multisite signals from brain as a probe, a polymeric precursor – SPR 220.7 was fabricated by pyrolysis at temperatures higher than 700 oC. Human Neuroblastoma cells - SK-N-MC, SY5Y, mouse teratocarcinoma cells P-19 and rat PC12 cells were found to attach and proliferate on photoresist derived carbon film. Significantly, neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells induced by NGF was demonstrated by observing cell shape and size, and measuring the length of neurites under SEM. Our results indicated that fabricated carbon could potentially be explored in regenerative medicine for promoting neuronal growth and differentiation in CNS with neurodegeneration.