NANORU: Nanotechnology for Stem Cell Reprogramming

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 19:00:00 -0500

This project advances a new nanotechnology tool to locally manipulate stem cells and developing cell systems using carefully modulated delivery of external genetic factors. By changing the size of the nanoparticles for the delivery, a tunable range of delivery of the genetic payload was achieved. This technological platform is very versatile and can be integrated within different scaffold designs and tissue culture configurations. We believe NanoRU and its application can significantly complement recent advances in research efforts to control stem cell differentiation based on physical cues such as patterns and bioactive scaffolds of ECM materials. Even though we have only explored proof-of-concept experiments involving genetic manipulation and differentiation of NSCs, we expect that NanoRU can be extended, with straightforward modifications of the aforementioned protocols, to a wide range of nanomaterials and biomolecules (e.g. miRNA, proteins, and small molecules).

Finally, we believe NanoRU is a valuable platform which will complement conventional genetic manipulation tools in cell biology. For example, one of the key aspects behind stem cell-based therapies for many devastating diseases is to transplant stem cells or differentiated stem cells at the site of injury, after genetically manipulating them. The exogenous delivery vehicles used for siRNA delivery would be present within the stem cells and could trigger a strong immune response or tumor formation after stem cell transplantation. Therefore, our NanoRU-based siRNA delivery can potentially help overcome one of the critical barriers in stem cell-based tissue engineering.