Highly dispersed lithium doped mesoporous silica nanospheres regulating adhesion, proliferation, morphology, ALP activity and osteogenesis related gene expressions of BMSCs

[Display omitted] •Highly dispersed lithium (Li) doped mesoporous silica nanospheres (LMSNs) were synthesized.•Degradability of LMSNs was obviously improved by incorporation of Li.•Release of Li from LMSNs significantly promoted cell responses of BMSCs. Lithium (Li) doped mesoporous silica nanospheres (LMSNs) were synthesized by incorporation of 5 wt% Li into mesoporous silica nanospheres (MSNs) using sol-gel method. The results showed that LMSNs with a mean size of approximate 300 nm exhibited uniform and highly dispersed spherical morphology, which was similar to the morphology of MSNs. Moreover, the degradability of MSNs was significantly increased after the incorporation of Li, and LMSNs could release both silicon (Si) and Li ions in a sustained manner. Due to the release of Li ions, LMSNs showed higher stimulatory effects on the attachment and proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) than MSNs. In addition, LMSNs could also enhance the ALP activity of BMSCs as well as improving osteogenesis related genes (OPN, ALP, Runx2 and OCN) expression of BMSCs. In summary, LMSNs have shown the capability of being a carrier of biologically active ions, which exhibit great potential in bone repair/regeneration applications.