The effect of electrical stimulation on the differentiation of hESCs adhered onto fibronectin-coated gold nanoparticles

Abstract To encourage stem cell differentiation, gold nanoparticles (20 nm) were used to deliver electrical stimulation to human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in vitro. Nano-structured gold nanoparticles were designed by coating the surface of culture dishes with gold nanoparticles using a layer-by-layer (LBL) system. In this method, gold nanoparticles were continuously coated onto dishes by SEM analysis. Evaluation of gene modified hESCs that were subsequently attached onto fibronectin-coated gold nanoparticles revealed that the un-differentiation marker, Oct-4, was no longer present following electrical stimulation. In addition, the osteogenic markers of collagen type I and Cbfa1 increased in response to electrical stimulation, while those of hESCs were not observed without electrical stimulation.