XanoMatrix surfaces as scaffolds for mesenchymal stem cell culture and growth
Authors: Garima Bhardwaj
Thomas J Webster
Journal: International Journal of Nanomedicine (2016)
Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY
Keywords: cell culture inserts; nanofibrous matrices; stem cells; tissue engineering.
Affiliations: Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA., Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract:  Stem cells are being widely investigated for a wide variety of applications in tissue engineering due to their ability to differentiate into a number of cells such as neurons, osteoblasts, and fibroblasts. This ability of stem cells to differentiate into different types of cells is greatly based on mechanical and chemical cues received from their three-dimensional environments. All organs are formed by a number of cells linked together via an extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM is a complex network of proteins and carbohydrates, which occupies intercellular spaces and regulates cellular activity by controlling cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and differentiation. The ECM is composed of two main types of macromolecules, namely, polysaccharide glycosaminoglycans, which are covalently attached to proteins in the form of proteoglycans and fibrous proteins belonging to two functional groups, structural (collagen and elastin) and adhesive (fibronectin, laminin, vitronectin, etc). Tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary field that aims to develop biomimetic scaffolds that emulate properties of the ECM to help repair or regenerate diseased or damaged tissue. This study introduces one of these matrices, XanoMatrix, as an optimal scaffold for tissue engineering applications, in particular, for stem cell research, based on its composition, nanofibrous structure, and porosity. Results of this study suggest that XanoMatrix scaffolds are promising for stem cell tissue engineering applications and as improved cell culture inserts for studying stem cell functions (compared to traditional Corning and Falcon cell culture plates) and, thus, should be further studied. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 Figure 1. *Results of the current study showed that, as expected, the surface of the XanoMatrix scaffold possessed nanofi- bers and was 3D in nature as compared to the 2D Corning and Falcon petri dishes (Figure 1).* Panels A (Corning) and B (Falcon) appear to show an overlap, shown here with red boxes. Based on the overlap, the panels are not shown at the same magnification. Could the authors please check if the correct photos were uploaded?  , 
 July 21, 2021 Bhardwaj G, Webster T. Int J Nanomedicine. 2016;11:2655u20132661. The Editor and Publisher of International Journal of Nanomedicine wish to issue an Expression of Concern for the published article. Concerns were raised regarding the alleged duplication of regions shown in images from Figure 1A and Figure 1B. International Journal of Nanomedicine would like to alert readers of this while we continue with our investigation. The authors have been contacted and were informed of these concerns. ,