Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) present promising opportunities for therapeutic medicine. Carbon derivatives showed only marginal enhancement in stem cell differentiation toward bone formation. Here we report that red-light absorbing carbon nitride (C3N4) sheets lead to remarkable proliferation and osteogenic differentiation by runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) activation, a key transcription factor associated with osteoblast differentiation. Accordingly, highly effective hBMSCs-driven mice bone regeneration under red light is achieved (91% recovery after 4 weeks compared to 36% recovery in the standard control group in phosphate-buffered saline without red light). This fast bone regeneration is attributed to the deep penetration strength of red light into cellular membranes via tissue and the resulting efficient cell stimulation by enhanced photocurrent upon two-photon excitation of C3N4 sheets near cells. Given that the photoinduced charge transfer can increase cytosolic Ca2+ accumulation, this increase would promote nucleotide synthesis and cellular proliferation/differentiation. The cell stimulation enhances hBMSC differentiation toward bone formation, demonstrating the therapeutic potential of near-infrared two-photon absorption of C3N4 sheets in bone regeneration and fracture healing.
Keywords: bone regeneration; carbon nitride nanosheets; mesenchymal stem cells; osteogenic differentiation; proliferation; two-photon materials.