Nucleic Acid Functionalization of Graphene and the Impact on Stem Cell Maturation

Stem cells are capable of differentiating into defined cell types, thus hold great promise for medical applications including disease modeling, drug screening, and therapeutics. When integrated with graphene, an extremely conductive and strong atomic sheet of carbon atoms, novel ways to understand and control the differentiation of stem cells may be realized. We hypothesize that nucleic-acid functionalized graphene minimally impact stem cell viability, and can further enhance stem cell differentiation. In our experiments, various nucleic acid constructs were successfully purified and characterized before functionalization onto graphene, which was synthesized on copper via chemical vapor deposition and then transferred onto glass coverslip. Stem cells, primary bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs), were isolated from mice and cultured on nucleic acid functionalized graphene. Preliminary atomic fore microscopy revealed prominent 3-dimensional features of greater than 30 nm in height 24 hours after stem cell attachment, suggesting the presence of viable BMMCs. Furthermore, cell topography and significant adhesion to nucleic acid-graphene substrate suggests robust cell viability. Our findings indicate potential enhancement of graphene for stem cell viability and differentiation.