CAREER: Manipulating Stem Cells Via Electroactive Conducting Polymers

该职业奖由匹兹堡大学材料研究部生物材料项目颁发，旨在研究促进、控制和指导宿主组织内干细胞的生长、分化和功能整合。该项目旨在开发一个技术平台，可用于研究材料与神经组织的相互作用，特别强调神经干细胞/祖细胞的分化。工程基质对干细胞命运的影响，特别是通过其表面特性、可溶性因子的控制释放和电刺激，是神经组织工程、组织修复和再生医学中最重要的问题之一。刺激的应用有望促进神经干细胞在所需的位置和方向上向功能神经元分化，并促进功能性组织的再生和修复。电活性导电聚合物如聚吡咯及其衍生物将用于构建神经干细胞生长和分化的各种表面。这些聚合物的独特性质将允许系统地改变表面特性，以高空间和时间分辨率释放可溶性因子，并施加电刺激。导电聚合物将被电沉积在细胞培养孔底部的电极上，用于系统和高通量的细胞培养研究，以提高效率和精度。这一技术平台将创造许多多学科交叉的培训机会，包括新的课程和研讨会，以吸引和教育研究生和本科生、博士后研究员，甚至医生。拟议的研究项目可能为通过工程外部刺激通过其支持基质操纵神经干细胞的方法提供重要的见解，因此它们可以对神经系统疾病或损伤具有治疗价值，其中许多是最具破坏性的条件。该教育计划将通过促进科学家、工程师和临床医生的参与，吸引更多的年轻人才（研究生和本科生，额外努力增加代表性不足群体的参与）进入该领域，并为他们提供丰富的多学科培训和研究经验，从而为快速发展的神经工程领域带来更大的影响。

This Career award by the Biomaterials program in the Division of Materials Research to University of Pittsburgh is to study to facilitate, control and direct the growth, differentiation and functional integration of stem cells within a host tissue. This project seeks to develop a technology platform that can be used to study material-neural tissue interaction with a specific emphasis on the differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells. That the stem cell fate can be influenced by the engineered substrate, specifically via the surface characteristics, controlled release of soluble factors and electrical stimulation is one of the most important questions in neural tissue engineering, tissue repair and regenerative medicine. Application of stimuli is expected to promote neural stem cells differentiation into functional neurons at desired locations and orientations, and is to promote functional tissue regeneration and repair. Electroactive conducting polymers such as polypyrrole and its derivatives will be used to build various surfaces for neural stem cells to grow and differentiate. The unique properties of these polymers will allow to systematically changing the surface characteristics, to release soluble factors at a high spatial and temporal resolution and to apply electrical stimuli. Conductive polymers will be electrodeposited on electrodes patterned on the bottom of cell culture wells for systematic and high-throughput cell culture studies to be performed with improved efficiency and precision. This technology platform will create numerous multi-interdisciplinary training opportunities, including new courses and workshops to attract and educate graduate and undergraduate students, post-doctoral fellows and even medical doctors. The proposed research project may provide significant insight into methods of manipulating neural stem cells via their supporting substrates by engineered external stimuli, so that they can be of therapeutic value to neurological diseases or injuries, many of which are the most devastating of conditions. The educational plan will bring more impact to the rapidly growing field of neural engineering by promoting the engagement of scientists, engineers and clinicians, and attracting more young talent (graduate and undergraduate students, with extra effort on increasing participation of underrepresented groups) to the field and providing them with a wealth of multidisciplinary training and research experience.