Nanotechnology in bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Nanotechnology represents a major frontier with potential to significantly advance the field of bone tissue engineering. Current limitations in regenerative strategies include impaired cellular proliferation and differentiation, insufficient mechanical strength of scaffolds, and inadequate production of extrinsic factors necessary for efficient osteogenesis. Here we review several major areas of research in nanotechnology with potential implications in bone regeneration: 1) nanoparticle-based methods for delivery of bioactive molecules, growth factors, and genetic material, 2) nanoparticle-mediated cell labeling and targeting, and 3) nano-based scaffold construction and modification to enhance physicochemical interactions, biocompatibility, mechanical stability, and cellular attachment/survival. As these technologies continue to evolve, ultimate translation to the clinical environment may allow for improved therapeutic outcomes in patients with large bone deficits and osteodegenerative diseases.

Surveillance of Stem Cell Fate and Function: A System for Assessing Cell Survival and Collagen ExpressionIn Situ

“…[27][28][29] However, it has also been shown that certain scaffolds and signaling molecules can significantly increase survival of transplanted cells. 21,30,31 Levi et al observed that induced pluripotent stem cells exhibited a high degree of survival and acquired a fully differentiated osteogenic state when transplanted on a biomimetic scaffold into calvarial defects. 10 In general, we found that increased survival time of transplanted cells correlated with increased rates of healing in the calvarial defects.…”

Preparación y caracterización de membranas poliméricas electrohiladas de policaprolactona y quitosano para la liberación controlada de clorhidrato de tiamina / Preparation and Characterization of Electrospun Polymeric Membranes of Polycaprolactone and Chitosan for Controlled Release of Thiamine Chlorhydrate

“…La nanotecnología representa una frontera importante con potencial para avanzar significativamente en el campo de la ingeniería de tejidos [1,2]. La preparación y uso de membranas porosas basadas en nanofibras han cobrado interés recientemente para aplicaciones biomédicas, especialmente en la ingeniería de tejidos, cuyo objetivo es crear estructuras biodegradables y biocompatibles con propiedades mecánicas y biológicas similares a la matriz extracelular (ECM), entre varias técnicas de preparación de membranas porosas se presenta el electrohilado como una técnica con gran potencial [3].…”

Magnetoactive electrospun nanofibers in tissue engineering applications

“…Fibrous nanomaterials have been exploited in many biological applications, such as biosensing [56,57], drug delivery [58][59][60], bioseparation [61] and tissue engineering [62][63][64], thus opening new possibilities in the biomedical arena. As aforementioned, one of the most popular and versatile nanofibre fabrication techniques used for the production of synthetically or naturally--derived nanofibrous materials is electrospinning [38].…”

“…Among other inorganic nanoparticulates, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) offer attractive possibilities in biomedicine and are more beneficial compared to microparticles, since they exhibit controllable size ranging from a few nanometers up to tens of nanometers, and dimensions smaller than or comparable to those of cells (10-100 μm), viruses (20-450 nm), proteins (5-50 nm) or genes (2 nm wide and 10-100 nm long) [97,98], improving tissular diffusion [99,100]. Moreover, therapeutic NPs with diameters ranging from 10-100 nm can be distributed throughout the circulatory system and penetrate small capillaries [62]. Surface modification provides additional functions rendering them ideal candidates as contrast enhancement agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in biomolecular detection, cell tracking, and for targeted drug delivery in tumor therapy [100,101].…”