Titanium dioxide nanotube arrays coated with laminin enhance C2C12 skeletal myoblast adhesion and differentiation

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanotubes possess extraordinary yet easily tunable physico-chemical properties that have motivated a huge number of studies in various fields of nanotechnology, with recent applications even in biomedical research. Here, arrays of TiO₂ nanotubes with different diameters (10 nm, 50 nm, and 100 nm) are studied in the interaction with skeletal muscle cells, in view of their use as electrically active biointerfaces. Laminin binding to nanotubes is also proposed with the purpose of enhancing nanotube biocompatibility. Laminin is indeed a protein typical of the extracellular matrix, and plays crucial roles in skeletal muscle development and activities both in vitro and in vivo. Synergistic effects of surface nanostructuring and coating on C2C12 cell responses are shown, in terms of sustained myoblast adhesion, spreading and differentiation on laminin coated nanotubes with smaller diameter, thus opening new opportunities for further exploitation of TiO₂ nanotube arrays in biological environments.