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• Dolatshahi-Pirouz, A
• Nikkhah, M
• Kolind, K
• Dokmeci, M
• Khademhosseini, A
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• Dolatshahi-Pirouz, A
• Nikkhah, M
• Kolind, K
• Dokmeci, M
• Khademhosseini, A
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• Dolatshahi-Pirouz, A
• Nikkhah, M
• Kolind, K
• Dokmeci, M
• Khademhosseini, A

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J. Funct. Biomater. 2011, 2(3), 88-106; doi:10.3390/jfb2030088

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Micro- and Nanoengineering Approaches to Control Stem Cell-Biomaterial Interactions

Alireza Dolatshahi-Pirouz ^1,2 , Mehdi Nikkhah ^1,2 , Kristian Kolind ³ , Mehmet R. Dokmeci ^1,2  and Ali Khademhosseini ^1,2,4,*

¹ Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02139, USA ² Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA ³ Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark ⁴ Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 24 May 2011; in revised form: 11 June 2011 / Accepted: 21 June 2011 / Published: 24 June 2011

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stem Cells and Biomaterials)

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Abstract: As our population ages, there is a greater need for a suitable supply of engineered tissues to address a range of debilitating ailments. Stem cell based therapies are envisioned to meet this emerging need. Despite significant progress in controlling stem cell differentiation, it is still difficult to engineer human tissue constructs for transplantation. Recent advances in micro- and nanofabrication techniques have enabled the design of more biomimetic biomaterials that may be used to direct the fate of stem cells. These biomaterials could have a significant impact on the next generation of stem cell based therapies. Here, we highlight the recent progress made by micro- and nanoengineering techniques in the biomaterials field in the context of directing stem cell differentiation. Particular attention is given to the effect of surface topography, chemistry, mechanics and micro- and nanopatterns on the differentiation of embryonic, mesenchymal and neural stem cells.

Keywords: micro- and nanotopography; microwells; microarrays; embryonic and adult stem cells; stem cell therapy

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