Gene Expression of Osteoblast-like Cells on Carbon-Nanowall as Scaffolds during Incubation with Electrical Stimulation

Nanostructured cell-culture scaffolds of carbon nanowalls (CNWs) were prepared by changing average wall-to-wall distances either 132 or 220 nm. Osteoblast-like cells (Saos-2) proliferated during 4 day incubation on the wider (220 nm) CNW scaffolds in the presence of electrical stimulation (ES). Differentiation gene expression levels of Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osteocalcin (OC) were suppressed after 10 day incubation, which indicated that the average wall-to-wall distances of the CNW scaffolds affect suppression of Runx2 and OC gene expression. This technique holds promise for controlling the differentiation of osteoblast-like cells.