3D graphene oxide/alginate hybrid hydrogels for an enhancement of the me-chanical and biological features

Graphene and its derivatives have recently emerged as promising materials due to their unique mechanical, physical, chemical proprieties. Although they have not yet been widely used for medical applications, preliminary works suggest that both mechanical properties and bioactivity of polymeric substrates may be enhanced when combined with graphene oxide (GO). We here propose an innovative 3D nanomaterial, introducing GO nanosheets in alginate (Alg) based hydrogels, whose poor mechanical and structural features limit their wide use as implant for tissue engineering applications.