Humble Clay Induces Stem Cell Change

Being first out of the starting gate with research counts. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital are the first to report that ordinary layered clay—scientific term “synthetic silicate nanoplatelets”—can induce stem cells to become bone cells without the need of additional bone-inducing factors. They published their results online in Advanced Materials.

Synthetic silicates are made up of simple or complex salts of silicic acids, and have been used extensively in commercial applications such as in food additives, glass and ceramic filler materials, and anti-caking agents.

“Based on the strong preliminary studies, we believe that these highly bioactive nanoplatelets may be utilized to develop devices such as injectable tissue repair matrixes, bioactive fillers, or therapeutic agents for stimulating specific cellular responses in bone-related tissue engineering, ” said Akhilesh Gaharwar, Ph.D., BWH Division of Biomedical Engineering, the first study author.

His colleague, Ali Khademhosseini, Ph.D., also of BWH Division of Biomedical Engineering and the senior study author, added, “With an aging population in the U.S., injuries and degenerative conditions are subsequently on the rise. As a result, there is an increased demand for therapies that can repair damaged tissues. In particular, there is a great need for new materials that can direct stem cell differentiation and facilitate functional tissue formation. Silicate nanoplatelets have the potential to address this need in medicine and biotechnology.”