| Summary: | Membrane functionalization is a promising strategy for augmenting cell performance in regenerative medicine. To this end, the design, construction, characterisation and cell affinity of protein-polymer surfactant nanoconstructs are presented. Nanoconstructs of eGFP were synthesised that exhibited near-native structure and function, as well as effective and persistent membrane affinity. Human mesenchymal stem cells were labelled for up to ten days in culture, without affecting cell viability or differentiation capacity. This "cell priming" technology has been used to address the issue of hypoxia-related central necrosis during in-vitro tissue engineering. Specifically, nanoconstructs of myoglobin, with enhanced oxygen-binding affinity, were synthesised and used to prime mesenchymal stem cells prior to hyaline cartilage engineering. The myoglobin-primed cells produced tissue constructs with a 62 % increase in type II : type I collagen ratio and, significantly, a reduction in cell necrosis from 42 ± 24 % to 7 ± 6 %.
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