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Microengineering Approach for Directing Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

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Biomaterials as Stem Cell Niche

Part of the book series: Studies in Mechanobiology, Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials ((SMTEB,volume 2))

Abstract

The microenvironment plays an integral role in directing the differentiation of stem cells. The ability to control and manipulate systems on the microscale can be used to control the cellular microenvironment to direct stem cell behavior. For stem cells, this control greatly improves our ability to study cell–microenvironment interactions in a rapid and precise manner to regulate stem cell behaviors such as differentiation and proliferation. Combining microscale technologies with high throughput techniques could also greatly increase the possibility for probing the multivariable complexity of biological systems. In this chapter, microengineering approaches to control the cellular microenvironment and to influence embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal and differentiation are introduced and specific examples of the use of microfabrication technologies for directing ESC fate decisions are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Hojae Bae, Jason W. Nichol, Amir Foudeh, Behnam Zamanian, Cheong Hoon Kwon & Ali Khademhosseini

  2. Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Hojae Bae, Jason W. Nichol, Amir Foudeh, Behnam Zamanian, Cheong Hoon Kwon & Ali Khademhosseini

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  1. Hojae Bae
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  2. Jason W. Nichol
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  4. Behnam Zamanian
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Correspondence to Ali Khademhosseini .

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  1. Cockrell School of Engineering, Dept. Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, University Station 1, Austin, 78712, Texas, USA

    Krishnendu Roy

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Bae, H., Nichol, J.W., Foudeh, A., Zamanian, B., Kwon, C.H., Khademhosseini, A. (2010). Microengineering Approach for Directing Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation. In: Roy, K. (eds) Biomaterials as Stem Cell Niche. Studies in Mechanobiology, Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials, vol 2. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8415_2010_7

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