Macro-, micro-and nano-roughness of carbon-based interface with the living cells: Towards a versatile bio-sensing platform

Integration of living cells with nonbiological surfaces (substrates) of sensors, scaffolds, and implants implies severe restrictions on the interface quality and properties, which broadly cover all elements of the interaction between the living and artificial systems (materials, surface modifications, drug-eluting coatings, etc.). Substrate materials must support cellular viability, preserve sterility, and at the same time allow real-time analysis and control of cellular activity. We have compared new substrates based on graphene and pyrolytic carbon (PyC) for the cultivation of living cells. These are PyC films of nanometer thickness deposited on SiO2 and black silicon and graphene nanowall films composed of graphene flakes oriented perpendicular to the Si substrate. The structure, morphology, and interface properties of these substrates are analyzed in terms of their biocompatibility. The PyC demonstrates interface biocompatibility, promising for controlling cell proliferation and directional intercellular contact formation while as-grown graphene walls possess high hydrophobicity and poor biocompatibility. By performing experiments with C6 glioma cells we discovered that PyC is a cell-friendly coating that can be used without poly-l-lysine or other biopolymers for controlling cell adhesion. Thus, the opportunity to easily control the physical/chemical properties and nanotopography makes the PyC films a perfect candidate for the development of biosensors and 3D bioscaffolds. ; Funding: This work was financially supported by Horizon 2020 RISE DiSeTCom Project 823728 (associated with Graphene Flagship), the Academy of Finland Flagship Programme projects nos. 320166 and 298298, joint project no. S-LB-19-4 from the Research Council of Lithuania Foundation, and the Belarusian Republican Foundation for Fundamental Research (BRFFR) project F19LITG-003. PK is supported by Horizon 2020 IF TURANDOT project 836816. SM and AO are also grateful for support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research project 18-29-19071. ...