Adult stem cell response to doped bioactive borate glass

Bioactive glasses have transformed healthcare due to their versatility. Bioactive borate glass, in particular, has shown remarkable healing properties for both hard and soft tissues. Incorporating dopants into the composition of bioactive glass helps to control mechanical properties, and it increases their usefulness for clinical applications. Using a bioactive borate glass, 13-93B3 (B3), we investigated eleven dopants on the viability and migration potential of adipose stem cells (ASCs), a therapeutic source of cells used in tissue engineering and cell therapy. Our results show that under standard cell culture conditions, only Cu-doped B3 decreased cell viability, while only Y-doped B3 attracted ASCs as it dissolved in cell culture media. Using a transwell invasion assay, priming ASCs with Co, Fe, Ga, I, Sr, or Zn-doped B3 increased their homing capacity. Because there is widespread interest in optimizing and enhancing the homing efficiency of ASCs and other therapeutic cells, we then tested if priming bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) with dopants also increased their homing capacity. In the case of BMSCs, there was a significant increase in invasion when cells were primed with any of the doped-B3 glasses. This work shows that incorporating dopants into borate glasses can provide a platform for a safe and efficient method that stimulates endogenous cells and healing mechanisms.