Fig. 5

Nanomaterials engineered to very precise specifications result in the activation of targeted cellular interactions that may help to achieve certain neurological goals. One way to build up a thick nanofibre matrix is using peptide–amphiphile molecules, which contain a hydrophobic carbon tail (white circles) and a hydrophilic head group of peptides (green circles), linked by a peptide spacer area (yellow circles). Neural stem cells and progenitor cells can be enclosed under physiological circumstances, but they can self-assemble and create a gel containing neural progenitor cells and stem cells in which they are trapped. To do this, neural progenitor cells, as well as stem cells' development and differentiation, may be regulated in this manner