The promoting effect on pre-osteoblast growth under electrical and magnetic double stimulation based on PEDOT/Fe₃O₄/PLGA magnetic-conductive bi-functional scaffolds

Electrical stimulation (ES) and magnetic stimulation (MS) can promote bone tissue formation in vivo. Loading ES and MS simultaneously would be very beneficial for bone tissue construction in vitro or in vivo. Magnetic-conductive bi-functional scaffolds which are favorable for the transfer of ES and MS, could further facilitate bone cell/tissue growth. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/Fe₃O₄/polylactic acid-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) magnetic-conductive bi-functional fibrous scaffolds were prepared through in situ polymerization of EDOT on Fe₃O₄/PLGA fibers. MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts were incubated on the PEDOT/Fe₃O₄/PLGA fibrous scaffolds and were stimulated by electrical, magnetic and electrical-magnetic signals respectively to detect the impact of different stimulation on cell viability. The measured results show that the scaffolds possess good conductivity and superparamagnetic responsiveness. Furthermore, both electrical and magnetic stimulation promoted cell proliferation and magnetic stimulation could induce cell alignment arrangement. Meanwhile, under electrical-magnetic double stimulation, cell viability was much higher than for cells under single electrical or magnetic stimulation. The growth promoting effects of PEDOT/Fe₃O₄/PLGA fibrous scaffolds under electrical-magnetic double stimulation has great practical potential for bone tissue engineering.