Human mesenchymal stem cell-adhesive peptides were screened based on the amino acid sequence of fibronectin type III domain 8-11 (FN-III (8-11)) using a peptide array synthesized by the Fmoc-chemistry. Using hexameric pepticle library of FN-III8-11 scan, we identified the ALNGR (Ala-Leu-Asn-Gly-Arg) peptide that induced cell adhesion as well as RGDS (Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser) peptide. After incubation for 2 h, approximately 68% of inoculated cells adhere to the ALNGR peptide disk. Adhesion inhibition assay with integrin antibodies showed that the ALNGR peptide interacts with integrin beta 1 but not with alpha v beta 3, indicating that the receptors for ALNGR are different from RGDS. Additionally, the ALNGR peptide expressed cell specificities for adhesion: cell adhesion was promoted for fibroblasts but not for keratinocytes or endotherial cells. The ALNGR pepticle induced cell adhesion and promoted cell proliferation without changing its property. It is therefore useful for the construction of functional biomaterials. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.