Application of micro/nanotechnology to stem cell research and technology

Abstract

Emerging technology has the potential to provide solutions to the devastating complications of illnesses, for people of all ages and genders and all backgrounds. Nevertheless, there are difficulties. Perhaps the most challenging area is transplantation, and in particular using stem cells. Transplantation implies contact, hence surface interactions, between the stem cell and the host tissue. Attachment and spreading of a cell on a substratum are the first part of the process that leads to the ultimate assimilation of the new cell into the host tissue. Together with confocal microscopy, we have exploited a uniquely powerful non-invasive optical technique and a 3-D microfluidic system by integrating a hydrogel scaffold into a PDMS device for cell growth, with co-culture capability to quantity attachment and spreading, and determine how the cell environment (the substratum, which might be tissue or an artificial non-living implant (prosthesis); the complex liquid medium bathing the cell, and the possible presence of congeners) influence attachment and spreading. This novel microfluidic platform has proven to be a versatile and powerful tool to study cell migration for various biological applications. This chapter highlights an overview of the application of Micro/Nanotechnology to stem cell research and technology.