Tissue engineering (TE) envisions the creation of functional substitutes for damaged tissues through integrated solutions, where medical, biological, and engineering principles are combined. Bone regeneration is one of the areas in which designing a model that mimics all tissue properties is still a challenge. The hierarchical structure and high vascularization of bone hampers a TE approach, especially in large bone defects. Nanotechnology can open up a new era for TE, allowing the creation of nanostructures that are comparable in size to those appearing in natural bone. Therefore, nanoengineered systems are now able to more closely mimic the structures observed in naturally occurring systems, and it is also possible to combine several approaches - such as drug delivery and cell labeling - within a single system. This review aims to cover the most recent developments on the use of different nanoparticles for bone TE, with emphasis on their application for scaffolds improvement; drug and gene delivery carriers, and labeling techniques. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:590-611, 2017.

A systematic study of the optical effects derived from plasmon coupling in mono- and multilayers of gold nanorods is presented. The monolayers were prepared using the standard polyelectrolyte-assisted layer-by-layer (LbL) method and gold nanorods coated with either poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) or homogeneous silica shells. Such plasmon coupling leads in general to extensive red-shift and broadening of the longitudinal plasmon bands, which are discussed on the basis of recently reported theoretical modeling. Whereas for PVP-coated rods, strong interactions were observed for high-density monolayers and closely spaced multilayers, increasingly efficient screening is observed for thicker silica shells.

The assembly of molecules and nanoscale objects into one-dimensional (1D) structures, such as fibers, tubules, and ribbons, typically results from anisotropic interactions of the constituents. Conversely, we found that a 1D structure can emerge via a very different mechanism, viz, the spontaneous symmetry breaking of underlying interparticle interactions during structure formation. For systems containing DNA-decorated nanoscale rods, this mechanism, driven by flexible DNA chains, results in the formation of 1D ladderlike mesoscale ribbons with a side-by-side rod arrangement. Detailed structural studies using electron microscopy and in situ small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), as well as analysis of assembly kinetics, reveal the role of collective DNA interactions in the formation of the linear structures. Moreover, the reversibility of DNA binding facilitates the development of hierarchical assemblies with time. We also observed similar linear structures of alternating rods and spheres, which implies that the discovered mechanism is generic for nanoscale objects interacting via flexible multiple linkers.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have arisen a lot of interest in the clinical realms of nanomedicine. Despite the large advances made in cancer research using AuNPs, their use in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) is still in its infancy. Herein, it is discussed the properties, functionalization, and emerging use of AuNPs as a multifunctional and multimodal platform for drug delivery, phototherapy, diagnostic and cell imaging purposes. Moreover, the recent reports related to the ability of AuNPs to enhance stem cell differentiation for bone tissue engineering, to enhance the mechanical and adhesive properties of scaffolds and surface topography to guide cell behaviors are addressed.