Open AccessEffects of nanotopography on stem cell phenotypes
Author(s) -
R. Ravichandran,
Susan Liao,
Clarisse Ch Ng,
Casey K. Chan,
Michael Raghunath,
Seeram Ramakrishna
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
world journal of stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.907
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 1948-0210
DOI - 10.4252/wjsc.v1.i1.55
Subject(s) - nanotopography , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , extracellular matrix , phenotype , cell adhesion , cell , somatic cell , biology , cellular differentiation , biochemistry , gene
Stem cells are unspecialized cells that can self renew indefinitely and differentiate into several somatic cells given the correct environmental cues. In the stem cell niche, stem cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions are crucial for different cellular functions, such as adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Recently, in addition to chemical surface modifications, the importance of nanometric scale surface topography and roughness of biomaterials has increasingly becoming recognized as a crucial factor for cell survival and host tissue acceptance in synthetic ECMs. This review describes the influence of nanotopography on stem cell phenotypes.