Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been the subject of many studies in recent years, ranging from basic science that looks into MSCs properties to studies that aim for developing bioengineered tissues and organs. Adult bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) have been the focus of most studies due to the inherent potential of these cells to differentiate into various cell types. Although, the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of cellular differentiation. These cells are another attractive stem cell source because of their ability to be reprogramed, allowing the generation of multiple cell types from a single cell. This paper briefly covers various types of stem cell sources that have been used for tissue engineering applications, with a focus on bone regeneration. Then, an overview of some recent studies making use of MSC-seeded 3D scaffold systems for bone tissue engineering has been presented. The emphasis has been placed on the reported scaffold properties that tend to improve MSCs adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation outcomes.

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The use of bone grafts permits the filling of a bone defect without risk of virus transmission. In this work, pure bioactive glass (46S6) and zinc-doped bioactive glass (46S6Zn10) with 0.1 wt% zinc are used to elaborate highly bioactive materials by melting and rapid quenching. Cylinders of both types of glasses were soaked in a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution with the aim of determining the effect of zinc addition as a trace element on the chemical reactivity and bioactivity of glass. Several physico-chemical characterization methods such as x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance methods, with particular focus on the latter, were chosen to investigate the fine structural behaviour of pure and Zn-doped bioactive glasses as a function of the soaking time of immersion in SBF. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used to measure the concentrations of Ca and P ions in the SBF solution after different durations of immersion. The effect of the investigated samples on the proliferation rate of human osteoblast cells was assessed by the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and tested on two different sizes of pure and zinc-doped glasses in powder form, with particle sizes that ranged between 40 to 63 µm and 500 to 600 µm. The obtained results showed the delay release of ions by Zn-doped glass (46S6Zn10) and the slower CaP deposition. Cytotoxicity and cell viability were affected by the particle size of the glass. The release rate of ions was found to influence the cell viability.