There are no reported studies of the effects of magnetic fields on osteoblast collagen secretory processes during osteoblast differentiation. We hypothesized that a mixture of collagen and osteoblasts, an adherent cell, would orient perpendicular to a magnetic field, since collagen fibers are known to orient perpendicular to magnetic fields. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the magnetic orientation of osteoblasts and the magnetic orientation of an osteoblast and collagen mixture after long-term exposure to 8 T magnetic fields, which were produced by a superconducting magnet, or without exposure to magnetic fields (control). We observed that osteoblasts oriented parallel to the magnetic fields, but a mixture of osteoblasts and collagen oriented perpendicular to the magnetic fields. The magnetic control of osteoblast orientation will help the developement of potential medical and engineering applications.
