Nano, Stem Cells Technologies Employed in Fabrication of Bone Scaffolds

Researchers at Royan Institute, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute and Amirkabir University of Technology collaboratively took a step in the advancement of tissue engineering by combining two state-of-the-art technologies i.e. stem cells and nanotechnology.
“The main objective of our research work was to fabricate an optimum osteogenic structure via tissue engineering techniques,” Mohammad R. B. Eslaminejad, researcher with Royan Institute, said, and added, “To fulfill such an aim, mesenchymal and scaffold stem cells of nano/micro dimensions were utilized and their effectiveness was investigated.”

Eslaminejad went on to say, “In tissue engineering practices, the employed scaffold has to be similar to the extra cellular matrix of the target tissue. In this regard, we synthesized polylactic acid/nano hydroxyl apatite scaffolds.”

“The composite of the mentioned materials offers most favorable mechanical properties and provides enhanced osteogenic connections. Thanks to the nano metric dimensions of the applied hydroxyl apatite particles, the obtained scaffold bears a close resemblance to its natural counterpart.”

“Another positive point on this research is the application of mesenchymal stem cells. Such cells are non-immunogenistic and of interest for their special multiplicative characteristics,” he added.

As the initial stage of the work, the fabricated scaffolds were examined for their structural and mechanical properties. Subsequently, mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow were purified and assessed. Afterwards, the cells were placed in the scaffolds and their biocompatibilities as well as some other characteristics were studied.

The results ascertain the superiority of osteogenic composites comprised of mesenchymal stem cells and nanostructured scaffolds.