Scientists in Germany have found that surface topography can be more important than chemistry for stem cells.Patrik Schmuki of the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and colleagues looked at how stem cells behave on nanotube-coated surfaces and found that they show a size-specific reaction to the nanopatterns. The researchers propose that nanopatterned surfaces could have potential applications in tissue engineering and in medical implants, such as replacement hips. Schmuki suggests that decorating implant surfaces with patterns on a similar scale to cells (around 10 μm) may improve the implants' integration into the body.
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