Biomimetic nanostructured materials - potential regulators for osteogenesis?

Abstract

Nanostructured materials are gaining new impetus owing to the advancements in materialfabrication techniques and their unique properties (their nanosize, high surface area-to-volumeratio, and high porosity). Such nanostructured materials mimic the subtleties of extracellularmatrix (ECM) proteins, creating artifi cial microenvironments which resemble the native nichesin the body. On the other hand, the isolation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from varioustissue sources has resulted in the interest to study the multiple differentiation lineages for varioustherapeutic treatments. In this review, our focus is tailored towards the potential of biomimeticnanostructured materials as osteoinductive scaffolds for bone regeneration to differentiate MSCstowards osteoblastic cell types without the presence of soluble factors. In addition to mimickingthe nanostructure of native bone, the supplement of collagen and hydroxyapatite which mimic themain components of the ECM also brings signifi cant advantages to these materials.