Abstract
Functional nanocomposite-based printable inks impart strength, mechanical stability, and bioactivity to the printed matrix due to the presence of nanomaterials or nanostructures. Carbonaceous nanomaterials are known to improve the electrical conductivity, osteoconductivity, mechanical, and thermal properties of printed materials. In the current work, we have incorporated carbon nanofiber nanoparticles (CNF NPs) into methacrylated gelatin (GelMA) to investigate whether the resulting nanocomposite printable ink promotes cell proliferation. Two kinds of printable constructs, viz., cell-laden bioink and biomaterial ink, were prepared by incorporating various concentrated CNF NPs. The in vitro cell line studies using normal human dermal fibroblasts (nHDF) were carried out to investigate the difference in cell proliferation between them for 7 days. The results demonstrated that CNF NPs have the potential to cause dose-dependent cytotoxicity, and the effect is at a significant level in the highly concentrated bioink scaffolds (GM100 and GM150). However, they did not trigger considerable cell toxicity in the biomaterial scaffolds. It was concluded that incorporation of CNF NPs into the printable ink could affect cell proliferation at the investigated NPs’ concentration and hence prove not suitable for skin tissue regeneration.