Poly(ethylene glycol) microsphere-encapsulated pluripotent stem cells: Control of microsphere size for cardiac differentiation

摘要

This study investigates two microsphere processing conditions to control stem cell colony size and thus the differentiation fate of pluripotent stem cells. Stem cell encapsulation within hydrogel microspheres is a scalable alternative to the hanging drop method of EB formation. Hydrogel microspheres allow for sophisticated control of EB size. Further work will covalently incorporate into the PEGDA backbone additional components for cell attachment and proteolytic degradation, in addition to signaling molecules to direct cardiac-specific differentiation. In review, microsphere encapsulation technology is a promising technique for stem cell differentiation because it allows for the control of structural characteristics of the cell's microenvironment during the formation of embryoid bodies.