Aspects of the invention are directed to mineral-based nanoparticles comprising silicate nanoparticles that induce human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) into a cartilage-lineage through the upregulation of cartilage-specific genes resulting in the transformation of the cell phenotype into that of a chondrocyte, i.e., a cartilage producing cell. The silicate nanoparticles are synthesized through a process where the precipitate of sodium silicate is mixed with one or more elements and compounds and milled into nanoparticles.
