Biomaterial substrates for xeno- and feeder layer-free culture of human pluripotent stem cells

多能干细胞是未来应用于人类治疗的一种很有前途的工具。他们有能力为 潜在地，人体内的所有组织和器官对组织工程、器官移植、 和药物研究。衍生和维持多能干细胞的培养条件仍然包括 对接受者有潜在风险的动物或人类血液产品，因为它们可能含有病毒、细菌或其他 有害的生物活性分子。我们的研究项目将开发新的合成蛋白质涂层聚合物作为附件和 用于人类多能干细胞培养的生长基质。这些化学定义的底物将消除 病原体在随后的人类多能干细胞应用中的传播，提供了迈向安全的重要一步， 人类干细胞临床级培养产品。此外，我们的合成聚合物将更具成本效益， 比现有方法更标准化和可重复性。 由于现在可以产生针对患者的干细胞系，我们的技术将有助于未来的个性化治疗 适用于患有关节炎、糖尿病或心脏病等慢性疾病的患者。五分之四的加拿大人面临着 发展退化性慢性疾病，因此我们的技术具有间接改善健康的强大潜力 加拿大人。 加拿大是人类干细胞研究的世界领先者之一。我们强烈的翻译研究项目将会有很大的帮助 有利于加拿大商业干细胞部门，并将培训具有跨学科专业知识的高素质人员 以及与加拿大不断发展的生物技术和再生医学部门直接相关的专业技能。

Pluripotent stem cells are a promising tool for future applications in human therapeutics. Their ability to contribute to potentially all tissues and organs in the human body makes them highly valuable for tissue engineering, organ replacement, and pharmaceutical research. The culture conditions in which pluripotent stem cells are derived and maintained still contain animal or human blood products that are of potential risk for recipients, as they may contain viruses, bacteria or other harmful bioactive molecules. Our research project will develop new synthetic protein-coated polymers as attachment and growth matrices for human pluripotent stem cell cultures. These chemically defined substrates will eliminate the risk of pathogen transmission in subsequent human pluripotent stem cell applications, providing an important step towards safe, clinical grade culture products for human stem cells. Moreover, our synthetic polymers will be more cost-effective, standardized and reproducible than existing methods. Since it is now possible to generate patient-specific stem cell lines, our technologies will assist future personalized therapies for patients suffering from chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes, or heart disease. Four out of five Canadians at a risk to develop degenerative chronic diseases, and therefore our technologies have strong potential to indirectly improve the health of Canadians. Canada is among the world leaders in human stem cell research. Our strongly translational research project will be of great benefit for the Canadian commercial stem cell sector and will train highly qualified personnel with interdisciplinary expertise and professional skills immediately relevant to Canadas growing biotechnology and regenerative medicine sectors.