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. 2016 Nov 25;11(8):849–858. doi: 10.2217/rme-2016-0120

Table 1. . Examples of biomimicking composition of tissues at nanoscale.

Tissue Nanotechnologies Functionality Tissue regeneration capacity Ref.
Bone Hydroxyapatite composite sponge with concentrated collagen nanofibers Mimicking bone chemistry based on osteoconductive scaffolds composed of inorganic material and natural polymers Induced continuous deposition of lamellar bone tissue while maintaining osteoblast activity [17]
  Synthesis of the two major bone crystals: hydroxyapatite and whitlockite nanoparticles Mimicking inorganic composition of bone, providing mechanical stability and stimulating osteogenic differentiation of stem cells Enhanced proliferation and differentiation of bone cells and induced rapid regeneration of bone tissues [19,20]
 
Self-assembled peptide amphiphile nanofibrous matrices to induce biomimetic nucleation of hydroxyapatite crystals
Mimicking bone mineralization with collagen-like fibril structure and nucleation of hydroxyapatite crystals
Promoted new bone formation in a rat femoral defect model
[21]
Cartilage Peptide amphiphilic nanofibers functionalized with chemical groups of GAG molecules Mimicking composition, structure and function of the ECM Enhanced aggregation of MSCs and deposition of cartilage-specific matrix elements [22]
 
Self-assembled supramolecular GAGs like glycopeptide nanofibers
Mimicking composition and functions of HA, the major component of cartilage
Induced chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs and enhanced formation of hyaline-like cartilage
[23]
Heart Nanofibrous collagen scaffold made by electrospinning and crosslinking for cardiac tissue regeneration Mimicking composition of myocardial connective stroma and delivery of cardiomyocytes Improved vascularization of scaffold with upregulation of gene expression related to ECM remodeling, after implanted in vivo [24]
 
MSC seeded polycaprolactone nanofiber cardiac patch by fibronectin immobilization
Mimicking ECM of heart by using fibronectin, which is a major component of normal heart for cell adhesion and activity
Enhanced cellular adhesion increased angiogenesis, and improved cardiac function
[25]
Skin
Multilayer nanofilm composed of HA and poly-L-lysine on top of a HA scaffold by using layer-by-layer assembly for skin tissue engineering
Mimicking epidermal–dermal composition and structure of skin at nanometer scale
Promoted adhesion of keratinocytes, enhancing epidermal protective barrier function of skin
[26]
Muscle Laminin mimetic peptide nanofibrous network Mimicking composition and structure of skeletal muscle basal lamina Enhanced cellular gene expression related to skeletal muscle specific marker [27]

ECM: Extracellular matrix; GAG: Glycosaminoglycan; HA: Hyaluronic acid; MSC: Mesenchymal stem cell.