RESEARCH ARTICLE
An update on the Application of Nanotechnology in Bone Tissue Engineering
MF Griffin1, 2, *, DM Kalaskar1, 2, A. Seifalian1, 2, PE Butler1, 2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2016Volume: 10
Issue: Suppl-3, M4
First Page: 836
Last Page: 848
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-10-836
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001610010836
Article History:
Received Date: 27/01/2016Revision Received Date: 31/05/2016
Acceptance Date: 31/05/2016
Electronic publication date: 30/12/2016
Collection year: 2016

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode), which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background:
Natural bone is a complex and hierarchical structure. Bone possesses an extracellular matrix that has a precise nano-sized environment to encourage osteoblasts to lay down bone by directing them through physical and chemical cues. For bone tissue regeneration, it is crucial for the scaffolds to mimic the native bone structure. Nanomaterials, with features on the nanoscale have shown the ability to provide the appropriate matrix environment to guide cell adhesion, migration and differentiation.
Methods:
This review summarises the new developments in bone tissue engineering using nanobiomaterials. The design and selection of fabrication methods and biomaterial types for bone tissue engineering will be reviewed. The interactions of cells with different nanostructured scaffolds will be discussed including nanocomposites, nanofibres and nanoparticles.
Results:
Several composite nanomaterials have been able to mimic the architecture of natural bone. Bioceramics biomaterials have shown to be very useful biomaterials for bone tissue engineering as they have osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties. Nanofibrous scaffolds have the ability to provide the appropriate matrix environment as they can mimic the extracellular matrix structure of bone. Nanoparticles have been used to deliver bioactive molecules and label and track stem cells.
Conclusion:
Future studies to improve the application of nanomaterials for bone tissue engineering are needed.