Figure 5.

Relative ALP activity in hMSCs after exposure to a,b) MSNs or c–f) ions directly dissolved in media. hMSCs were exposed to a single dose (s) or multiple doses (m) of 70 or 140 µg mL⁻¹ of MSN_Sr, MSN_Sr‐CaP, and MSN_Sr‐CaZnP and ALP activity assayed after a) 14 and b) 21 days. hMSCs were further exposed to three concentrations sets of c) Sr, d) Ca and P, e) Sr, Ca, and P, and f) Sr, Ca, Zn, and P dissolved in cell culture media. Concentration set [1] consisted of ion concentration as present in multiple doses 140 µg mL⁻¹ of MSN_Sr, MSN_Sr‐CaP, or MSN_Sr‐CaZnP, while concentration sets [2] and [3] corresponded to ion concentrations found in literature that are known to induce osteogenic markers expression in hMSCs (Table 3). The data were normalized to hMSC DNA content. For all figures, error bars indicate one standard deviation among the triplicate. Significant difference compared to the controls are shown by * representing p‐values as follows; *p < 0.033; **p < 0.02; ***p < 0.001.