Substrate nanotexture and hypergravity through centrifugation enhance initial osteoblastogenesis

Mimicking the structural nanomolecular extracellular matrix with synthetically designed nanosized materials is a relatively new approach, which can be applied in the field of bone tissue engineering. Likewise, bone tissue-engineered constructs can be aided in their development by the use of several types of mechanical stimuli. In this study, we wanted to combine nanotextured biomaterials and centrifugation in one multifactorial system. Mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from rat bone marrow, and cultured on a nanogrooved polystyrene substrate (200-nm-wide pitch with a depth of 50 nm). Constant centrifugation of 10 g was applied to cells up to 7 days. Results showed that on a nanogrooved substrate osteoblast-like cells align parallel to the groove direction. Centrifugation of 10 g also affected cell morphology on a smooth surface. Moreover, cell alignment was significantly reduced for cells grown on nanogrooved substrates, which were subsequently subjected to centrifugation. Independently, both stimuli i...