Article abstract


Nature Materials 6, 997 - 1003 (2007)
Published online: 23 September 2007 | doi:10.1038/nmat2013

Subject Categories: Biological materials | Characterisation and analytical techniques

The control of human mesenchymal cell differentiation using nanoscale symmetry and disorder

Matthew J. Dalby1, Nikolaj Gadegaard1, Rahul Tare2, Abhay Andar1, Mathis O. Riehle1, Pawel Herzyk3, Chris D. W. Wilkinson1 & Richard O. C. Oreffo2


A key tenet of bone tissue engineering is the development of scaffold materials that can stimulate stem cell differentiation in the absence of chemical treatment to become osteoblasts without compromising material properties. At present, conventional implant materials fail owing to encapsulation by soft tissue, rather than direct bone bonding. Here, we demonstrate the use of nanoscale disorder to stimulate human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to produce bone mineral in vitro, in the absence of osteogenic supplements. This approach has similar efficiency to that of cells cultured with osteogenic media. In addition, the current studies show that topographically treated MSCs have a distinct differentiation profile compared with those treated with osteogenic media, which has implications for cell therapies.

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  1. Centre for Cell Engineering, Joseph Black Building, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK
  2. Bone and Joint Research Group, Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration, Institute of Developmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton S016 6YD, UK
  3. Sir Henry Wellcome Functional Genomics Facility, Joseph Black Building, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK

Correspondence to: Matthew J. Dalby1 e-mail: m.dalby@bio.gla.ac.uk




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