Recent Advances in Nanostructured Polymeric Surface: Challenges and Frontiers in Stem Cells

This chapter describes recent advancing in nanostructured polymeric surfaces by analyzing how they can affect stem cell behavior. Surface is the first part that comes in contact with cells, and surface properties play a critical role in modulating stem cell behavior, guiding the shape and structure of developing tissues, providing mechanical stability, and offering opportunities to deliver inductive molecules to transplanted or migrating cells. In this regard, nanostructured polymeric surface by offering informative microenvironments allowing cells to interpret the biomaterial instructions could provide a fine structure and tunable surface in nanoscales to help the cell adhesion and promote the cell growth and differentiation. The chapter starts with a comprehensive description of the nanostructured polymeric surface by analyzing in detail the main surface modification methods and focusing on the physicochemical properties and then the main mechanisms in the stem cell/surface interactions. A concise examination of microscopic techniques used in estimating the stem cell/nanostructured surface interaction will be described, and in particular fluorescence, electron, and atomic force microscopies will be mainly investigated and compared. The synergism of stem cell biology and biomaterial technology promises to have a profound impact on stem-cell-based clinical applications for tissue regeneration. Thus, the design of novel biomaterials surface is trying to recapitulate the molecular events involved in the production, clearance, and interaction of molecules within tissue in pathologic conditions and regeneration of tissue/organs.