CAREER: Manipulating Stem Cells Via Electroactive Conducting Polymers

匹兹堡大学材料研究部生物材料项目的职业奖旨在研究促进，控制和指导宿主组织中干细胞的生长，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-神经组织相互作用，特别强调神经干/祖细胞的分化。干细胞的命运可以受到工程基质的影响，特别是通过表面特性，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。 预期刺激的施加促进神经干细胞在期望的位置和方向分化为功能性神经元，并且促进功能性组织再生和修复。电活性导电聚合物，如聚吡咯及其衍生物，将用于构建各种表面，供神经干细胞生长和分化。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。导电聚合物将电沉积在细胞培养威尔斯孔底部图案化的电极上，用于以提高的效率和精度进行系统和高通量细胞培养研究。这个技术平台将创造许多多学科的培训机会，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会提供重要的见解，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，使它们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，特别努力增加代表性不足的群体的参与），为迅速发展的神经工程领域带来更多的影响，并为他们提供丰富的多学科培训和研究经验。

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.