Evaluating the Efficiency of Selenium Nanoparticles in the Production of Decellularized Neural Scaffold and the Ability to Preserve Stem Cells Cultured on Them: A Laboratory Study

Selenium is a trace element and its nanoparticle has antimicrobial activity and due to their low toxicity and excellent biological performance, it has many biological applications in tissue engineering. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of selenium nanoparticles on stem cell interaction on rat decellularized sciatic nerve scaffolds.

In this laboratory study, the effect of selenium nanoparticles on stem cell interaction on rat decellularized sciatic nerve scaffold, scaffolds were prepared using Sondell decellularizaton method and stored in PBS solution containing antibiotics. Biomechanical and histological evaluations of scaffolds were examined using the light microscope. In the next step, adipose stem cells were seeded on the scaffold and the viability of the cells on the scaffold in the presence of selenium nanoparticles were measured by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test.

The tensile test showed that after decellularization, extracellular matrix components such as collagen, laminin, and elastin were retained in the scaffold. Also, DNA content was significantly reduced in the scaffold group (p<0.01). The results of MTT test showed that selenium nanoparticles had no toxicity on stem cells cultured on the scaffold.

The biocompatibility of scaffolds and the viability of stem cells treated with selenium nanoparticles were not significantly different from the control group. Therefore, it can be evaluated as a reinforcing factor to increase the efficiency of scaffolds for the use in regeneration of the nerve lesions.