In this paper, we propose an absolutely innovative technique for the electrical stimulation of cells, based on piezoelectric nanoparticles. Ultrasounds are used to impart mechanical stress to boron nitride nanotubes incubated with neuronal-like PC12 cells. By virtue of their piezoelectric properties, these nanotubes can polarize and convey electrical stimuli to the cells. PC12 stimulated with the present method exhibit neurite sprout 30% greater than the control cultures after 9 days of treatment.

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This protocol could be useful for maximizing hAT-MSC potential to differentiate in vitro into the adipogenic and osteogenic lineages, for use in plastic and reconstructive surgery, and in tissue engineering strategies.

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have generated considerable interest within the scientific community by virtue of their unique physical properties, which can be exploited in the biomedical field. In the present in vitro study, we investigated the interactions of poly-l-lysine-coated BNNTs with C2C12 cells, as a model of muscle cells, in terms of cytocompatibility and BNNT internalization. The latter was performed using both confocal and transmission electron microscopy. Finally, we investigated myoblast differentiation in the presence of BNNTs, evaluating the protein synthesis of differentiating cells, myotube formation, and expression of some constitutive myoblastic markers, such as MyoD and Cx43, by reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. We demonstrated that BNNTs are highly internalized by C2C12 cells, with neither adversely affecting C2C12 myoblast viability nor significantly interfering with myotube formation.

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