Journal article
A tunable silk-alginate hydrogel scaffold for stem cell culture and transplantation
Keren Ziv, Harald Nuhn, Yael Ben-Haim, Laura S Sasportas, Paul J Kempen, Thomas P Niedringhaus, Michael Hrynyk, Robert Sinclair, Annelise E Barron, Sanjiv S Gambhir
BIOMATERIALS | ELSEVIER SCI LTD | Published : 2014
Abstract
One of the major challenges in regenerative medicine is the ability to recreate the stem cell niche, which is defined by its signaling molecules, the creation of cytokine gradients, and the modulation of matrix stiffness. A wide range of scaffolds has been developed in order to recapitulate the stem cell niche, among them hydrogels. This paper reports the development of a new silk-alginate based hydrogel with a focus on stem cell culture. This biocomposite allows to fine tune its elasticity during cell culture, addressing the importance of mechanotransduction during stem cell differentiation. The silk-alginate scaffold promotes adherence of mouse embryonic stem cells and cell survival upon t..
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Awarded by NIH NCI Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence
Awarded by NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
Funding Acknowledgements
Keren Ziv is a Pfizer fellow of the Life Science Research Foundation. The silk was kindly provided by Rucsanda Carmen Preda from David L. Kaplan's Laboratory, Tufts University. Boston, MA. The SEM images were taken using EVO LS15 VPSEM with Extended Pressure Technology with the kind help of Stephen W. Joens, applications Specialist from Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC. Thornwood, NY. Laura Sarah Sasportasis supported by a Fulbright Science and Technology Fellowship, a Stanford Weiland Fellowship, a Student Fellowship from the Society for Nuclear Medicine (SNM), and an International Student Fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). SEM analysis by Paul Kempen was funded through the NIH NCI Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Grants CCNE U54 CA119367 (S.S.G.), CCNE U54 U54CA151459 (SSG). The imaging studies were done at the Stanford Center for Innovation in In-Vivo Imaging (SCI3).