Mesenchymal stem cell differentiation by nano-engineered Si columns

We successfully engineered Si nano-columns with different cross-sectional geometries by e-beam evaporation with an angle between source and substrate. The Si nano-columns were grown as pillars with square, triangle and linear cross sections in in-plane. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from the bone marrow stroma of young adult rats were cultured on these different Si nanosurfaces. We found that the behaviour of MSCs highly depended on the geometry of nano-topography so that mesenchymal stem cells were differentiated and induced CaP precipitation on square-cross-sectional Si nano-columns without growth factor in the culture medium.