Dear Colleagues,

Graphene has recently emerged as a suitable alternative material for applications in biomedical and regenerative fields.

Graphene is a two-dimensional (2D) carbon-based material with sp²-bonded carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice structure, with extraordinary electrical, mechanical, physical, and optical properties.

However, graphene has especially great potential in tissue engineering, conservative surgery, and regenerative medicine. Graphene and its derivatives have been widely investigated, since its discovery in 2004, to develop electrical and biomedical devices such as drug delivery systems, biosensors, and regenerative therapies.

The potential applications of graphene in biological systems are numerous and include its use in cell imaging and drug delivery as well as biosensors. Several reports have shown that, when grown on graphene-coated biomaterials, there is an increase of adhesion and proliferation of different cells. Moreover, it is widely recognized that graphene increases cell proliferation, and influences the differentiation of stem cells into certain cell lines. It has been reported that graphene provides a promising biocompatible scaffold that supports the proliferation of human mesenchymal stem cells and accelerates their specific differentiation into several differentiated cell lineages. The differentiation rate is comparable to that achieved with common additives and differentiating factors.

Considering that graphene is an innovative material for functionalizing biomaterials for biomedical applications, to date there is not a comprehensive collection of original scientific papers reporting achievements in this field.

In this context, this Special Issue aims to stimulate the scientific community to spread knowledge regarding the improvement of the performances and functionality of graphene-enriched biomaterials.

Dr. Susi Zara
Dr. Marialucia Gallorini
Guest Editors

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• carbon
• carbon nanotubes
• graphene
• graphene oxide
• coating
• functionalization
• stem cells
• biomaterials
• differentiation
• tissue regeneration
• tissue engineering