Abstract
lating these implants. Increasing evidence proved that adhesionrelated non-chemical signals such as mechanical force and topography can play an equally important and complementary role like chemical signals. Current efforts are focused on scrutinising the influence of various geometries and densities of ordered nanoparticle arrays on the morphology of pluripotent cells and lineage specification of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The development of ‘smart’ materials and their routine application in medical devices will benefit greatly from the identification of topographies that elicit specific cellular responses, understanding how cells interpret these topographic cues and designing new strategies to couple topography with chemical, mechanical and other vital cell stimuli 1,2 .
Highlights
To understand the cellular responses towards its environment regarding mechanical force and topography of its environment, new strategies are being formulated using biomaterials at nanoscale level, providing cellularspecific scaffolding to match differentiation
Increasing evidence proved that adhesionrelated non-chemical signals such as mechanical force and topography can play an important and complementary role like chemical signals
The discussion has been focused on the stem cell biology because they play critical roles in the tissues establishment, regeneration and replacement due to their unique capability of both differentiation and self-renewal, and they are the leading candidates for tissue engineering research and regenerative medicine, covering a wide range of therapeutic areas
Summary
While significant advances have been made since Curtis and Vardehypothesised that topology was important in determining cell behaviour, we are only beginning to understand their effects on cell function. Research in this area had been limited mainly to quantifying morphological parameters such as alignment, elongation, and area, perhaps because of the engineering background of the investigators. A major limitation has been a lack of control of the surfaces with defined chemistries, difficulties in characterisation of the protein adsorption process and understanding how cells bind to such nanotopographic surfaces. With the barrier between biologists and engineers disappearing, these limitations will quickly be addressed, and future investigations will shift towards understanding changes in signalling pathways and gene expression. As our understanding of the molecular and whole-cell responses of stem cells to topography increases, there will be enormous scope for the creation of next-generation materials possessing defined features to tailor stem cell fate and functioning to specific laboratory, industrial and therapeutic applications
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