Nanogrooved microdiscs for bottom-up modulation of osteogenic differentiation

Grooved topographical features have effectively modulated cell differentiation on two-dimensional substrates. To transpose patterning into a 3D environmment, nanogrooved microdiscs, topodiscs, are produced as cell carriers for bottom-up cell-mediated assembly. While enhancing cell proliferation, topodiscs led to the formation of bone-like aggregates, even in culture medium lacking osteoinductive factors. Novel disc-like microparticles, herein termed as topodiscs, with grooved surface nanotopography effectively enhanced cell culture and allowed for a bottom-up engineering of 3D mineralized microtissues.