Quaternary ammonium-functionalized carbon nanotubes/alginate nanocomposite hydrogels support myoblast growth and differentiation

. Even more interestingly, HG2-fCNT featured a faster transmission of low frequency signals (with time scales from 1 ms to 100 ms, typical of electroactive biological tissues) than the other samples. Finally, the behavior of the four hydrogels as scaffolds for muscle tissue engineering was compared through studies of myoblast viability, proliferation, and differentiation. A relevant improvement in differentiation (more than doubling the number and area of myotubes and the fusion index) was obtained by adding the fCNT in the case of HG2-fCNT, in line of its superior electrical properties. These outcomes hint at the feasibility of using the fCNT combined with the alginate hydrogel in order to support the myoblast growth and proliferation.