Gr/TiO2 Films with Light-Controlled Positive/Negative Charge for Cell Harvesting Application

Light-induced cell harvest shows much potential in in vitro cell culture. In this work, a light-responsive monolayer graphene (Gr)/titanium dioxide nanodot (TN) film is designed and used for light-induced cell harvest. It is found that after 20 min of 365 nm UV or 450 nm visible light illumination, different types of cells could be detached from the surface effectively. The highest cell detachment ratio reaches about 95%. The mechanism of such a cell detachment is contributed to light illumination generates charge accumulation, which, in turn, changes the conformation of the extracellular matrix protein molecules adsorbed to a more disordered state, and eventually leads to the cells detachment. Such UV and visible light responsive Gr/TiO2 film could be a good candidate for a surface with light-induced cell detachment property.