Fe3O4@GO magnetic nanocomposites protect mesenchymal stem cells and promote osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells

Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) are typical magnetic materials for bone tissue regeneration. However, the accompanying oxidative stress during the reaction process of Fe3O4 NPs and H2O2 in bone remodeling and disease may hinder their application. In order to reduce this side effect, we selected graphene oxide (GO) to modify Fe3O4 NPs. We showed that Fe3O4@GO magnetic nanocomposites (Fe3O4@GO MNCs) eliminated 30% of H2O2 in 3 h, and reduced the amount of OH, the intermediate product of the Fenton reaction. The cellular study demonstrated that Fe3O4@GO MNCs reduced the cell damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and improved the activity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Moreover, when the magnetic field and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) delivered by Fe3O4@GO MNCs worked together, osteogenic differentiation of MSCs in vitro was well promoted.