Carbon Nanotubes as a Scaffold for Spermatogonial Cell Maintenance

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are viewed as a class of nanomaterials with high potential for many biomedical applications due to their unique properties. One of the prospective bio-application of CNTs is in the area of tissue engineering as a scaffold for cell culture. Supporting the use of CNTs as scaffold in tissue engineering a few cell types have been successfully grown on it but no report for any germline cell. In the present study, the in vitro maintenance of spermatogonial cells on carbon nanotube scaffold has been evaluated for the first time. Protein adsorption on the CNT scaffolds along with other substrates has also been evaluated because it is very likely that adsorbed proteins in serum influence the properties for the cell growth. Microscopic analysis (Light and SEM) showed that cells maintain their proper shape and adhered on all CNT scaffolds during in vitro culture. It was observed that the cells were maintained for at least 21 days on all CNT scaffolds compared to the positive control (Sertoli feeder layer). The results express a degree of biocompatibility between spermatogonial cells and CNTs and the possibility for CNTs to be used as substratum for in vitro growth of these cells.