Evaluation of the effects of boron nitride nanotubes functionalized with gum arabic on the differentiation of rat mesenchymal stem cells

The use of nanostructured materials in biomedical applications has been widely investigated, in particular with the aim of using these materials to selectively carry drugs or molecules of interest to a target tissue or organ. Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) functionalized with specific moieties have been demonstrated to be useful candidates for the targeted delivery of proteins, drugs and nucleic acids. We evaluated the influence of BNNTs functionalized with gum arabic on the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. The nanotubes were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, Raman spectrometry and dynamic light scattering. In vitro assays were performed on mesenchymal stem cells to evaluate the cytocompatibility of the functionalized BNNTs in terms of cell viability and metabolic activity. The interactions of the cells with the nanoparticles were further investigated by analyzing the conformation of the cytoskeleton. The differentiation of the mesenchymal stem cells into adipocytes and osteocytes after treatments with safe doses of BNNTs was assessed at both the gene and phenotype levels.