FeO@GO magnetic nanocomposites protect mesenchymal stem cells and promote osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

FeO nanoparticles (FeO NPs) are typical magnetic materials for bone tissue regeneration. However, the accompanying oxidative stress during the reaction process of FeO NPs and HO in bone remodeling and disease may hinder their application. In order to reduce this side effect, we selected graphene oxide (GO) to modify FeO NPs. We showed that FeO@GO magnetic nanocomposites (FeO@GO MNCs) eliminated 30% of HO in 3 h, and reduced the amount of ˙OH, the intermediate product of the Fenton reaction. The cellular study demonstrated that FeO@GO MNCs reduced the cell damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and improved the activity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Moreover, when the magnetic field and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) delivered by FeO@GO MNCs worked together, osteogenic differentiation of MSCs in vitro was well promoted.