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3D‐Printed Microrobotic Transporters with Recapitulated Stem Cell Niche for Programmable and Active Cell Delivery
Author(s) -
Yasa Immihan Ceren,
Tabak Ahmet Fatih,
Yasa Oncay,
Ceylan Hakan,
Sitti Metin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201808992
Subject(s) - stem cell , mesenchymal stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , materials science , niche , cell , transplantation , regeneration (biology) , tissue engineering , stem cell niche , nanotechnology , biomedical engineering , biophysics , biology , progenitor cell , medicine , biochemistry , surgery
Poor retention rate, low targeting accuracy, and spontaneous transformation of stem cells present major clinical barriers to the success of therapies based on stem cell transplantation. To improve the clinical outcome, efforts should focus on the active delivery of stem cells to the target tissue site within a controlled environment, increasing survival, and fate for effective tissue regeneration. Here, a remotely steerable microrobotic cell transporter is presented with a biophysically and biochemically recapitulated stem cell niche for directing stem cells towards a pre‐destined cell lineage. The magnetically actuated double‐helical cell microtransporters of 76 µm length and 20 µm inner cavity diameter are 3D printed where biological and mechanical information regarding the stem cell niche are encoded at the single‐cell level. Cell‐loaded microtransporters are mobilized inside confined microchannels along computer‐controlled trajectories under rotating magnetic fields. The mesenchymal stem cells are shown retaining their differentiation capacities to commit to the osteogenic lineage when stimulated inside the microswimmers in vitro. Such a microrobotic approach has the potential to enable the development of active microcarriers with embedded functionalities for controlled and precisely localized therapeutic cell delivery.