Enhanced Differentiation of Embryonic and Neural Stem Cells to Neuronal Fates on Laminin Peptides Doped Polypyrrole

PPy is a conducting polymer material that has been widely investigated for biomedical applications. hESCs and adult rNSCs were grown on four PPy surfaces doped with PSS or peptide from laminin (p20, p31, and a mixture of p20 and p31) respectively. After 7 d, both PPy/p20 and PPy/p31 promoted neuroectoderm formation from hESCs. After 14 d of culture, surfaces containing p20 showed the highest percentage of neuronal differentiation from hESC, while the PPy/p31 surface showed better cell attachment and spreading. In rNSCs cultures, a higher percentage of neurons were found on the PPy/p20 surface than other surfaces at 7 and 14 d. For differentiated neurons, p20 promoted both the primary and total neurite outgrowth. Longer primary neurites were found on p20‐containing surfaces and a longer total neurite length was found on PPy/p20 surface. These results demonstrated that, by doping PPy with different bioactive peptides, differentiation of stem cells seeded at different stages of development is affected. hESCs and rNSCs are cultured on four kinds of PPy surfaces doped with laminin peptide p20 and p31. PPy/p20 promoted neuroectoderm formation and neuronal differentiation of hESCs, while PPy/p31 promoted adhesion and spreading of hESCs. PPy/p20 surfaces enhance the neuronal differentiation of rNSC by increasing not only the percentage of neurons but also the neurite length. Conductive polymer doped with peptide holds promise in manipulating neuronal differentiation of stem cells.