Gold Nanoparticles Inducing Osteogenic Differentiation of Stem Cells: A Review

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been extensively studied for applications in biomedical sciences. AuNPs have exceptional advantages in cells studies include good biocompatibility and very low cytotoxicity. The eco-friendly synthesis of AuNPs with various physical characteristics is simple, and led to the fabrication of nanomaterials showing different biological functions routing cellular physiology. A growing number of recent studies focused on the promoting effect of AuNPs on stem cells osteogenic differentiation. This includes the ability of the AuNP to activate Wnt/beta-catenin pathway, ERK/MAPK pathway and p38 MAPK pathway, resulting in the activation of the transcription factors for the osteogenic differentiation. This technology represents a promising therapeutic strategy to heal patients with bone injury, by regenerating bone cells using stem cells therapy. In this review, recent applications of AuNPs in stem cells osteogenic differentiation, along with the related inducing mechanism are discussed. We also provide recent updates on the AuNP synthesis methods.