Min-Ki Kang

Stem cells have the ability to differentiate into specific cell lineages. For this reason, stem cells have been approached from various regenerative medicine perspectives to cure various diseases that are difficult to treat with conventional chemotherapy. For efficient stem cell therapy, several key technologies are required. Above all, it is very important to control the behavior of stem cells. In order to differentiate stem cells into desired cell phenotypes in a laboratory environment, it is necessary to control the biological activities of cells on a nanoscale. In fact, the environment in which stem cells grow in vivo, that is, the stem cell niche or microenvironment, supplies different nanotopographical information to stem cells according to tissue characteristics. The nanoplatform is a substrate on which such nanotopography is implemented, and serves to enhance the growth and attachment of stem cells. In addition, various nanoplatforms capable of guiding specific differentiation have been introduced. Another key technology for effective stem cell therapy is the non-probing, non-invasive monitoring of stem cell differentiation. Existing gene and protein analysis methods such as PCR, FACS, and immunocytochemistry have invasive procedures including cell fixation or lysis. Considering that stem cell therapeutics include a process of in vivo transplantation of specific cells produced in a laboratory environment, existing analysis methods are not suitable for effective and practical stem cell therapeutics. Electrochemical or optical sensing can non-invasively quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the functions of stem cells as well as specific cells differentiated from stem cells in real time. Various nanostructures through nanofabrication enhance the performance of these electrochemical and optical sensors, enabling more sensitive and selective monitoring of stem cell differentiation.

School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea

Homepage : https://bestlaboratory.wixsite.com/best