Tailoring Polysaccharide-Based Nanostructured Biomaterials for Guided Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) Response

It is generally accepted that both chemical and topographical cues affect MSC behavior in proliferation and differentiation. In our work, we have developed polysaccharide-based biomaterials for control response of MSC. Using the naturally derived polysaccharides chitosan, heparin, and hyaluronan two different biomaterials (polyelectrolyte multilayers [PEM] and polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles [PCN]) were constructed and evaluated in vitro using bone marrow-derived ovine MSC. MSC proliferation studies were performed for both systems. MSCs were seeded on PEM constructed in tissue culture grade polystyrene dishes with and without fibronectin. It was noted that the addition of fibronectin enhances the MSC proliferation rate. Basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) was embedded on the PCN and delivered to MSCs to study cell proliferation.