Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and.
Stem Cells Transl Med. 2014 Jan;3(1):81-90. doi: 10.5966/sctm.2013-0118. Epub 2013 Dec 5.
Stem cells are a powerful resource for producing a variety of cell types with utility in clinically associated applications, including preclinical drug screening and development, disease and developmental modeling, and regenerative medicine. Regardless of the type of stem cell, substantial barriers to clinical translation still exist and must be overcome to realize full clinical potential. These barriers span processes including cell isolation, expansion, and differentiation; purification, quality control, and therapeutic efficacy and safety; and the economic viability of bioprocesses for production of functional cell products. Microfluidic systems have been developed for a myriad of biological applications and have the intrinsic capability of controlling and interrogating the cellular microenvironment with unrivalled precision; therefore, they have particular relevance to overcoming such barriers to translation. Development of microfluidic technologies increasingly utilizes stem cells, addresses stem cell-relevant biological phenomena, and aligns capabilities with translational challenges and goals. In this concise review, we describe how microfluidic technologies can contribute to the translation of stem cell research outcomes, and we provide an update on innovative research efforts in this area. This timely convergence of stem cell translational challenges and microfluidic capabilities means that there is now an opportunity for both disciplines to benefit from increased interaction.
干细胞是一种强大的资源，可以用于产生多种具有临床应用价值的细胞类型，包括临床前药物筛选和开发、疾病和发育建模以及再生医学。无论哪种类型的干细胞，临床转化仍然存在重大障碍，必须克服这些障碍才能充分发挥其临床潜力。这些障碍包括细胞分离、扩增和分化；纯化、质量控制以及治疗效果和安全性；以及生产功能性细胞产品的生物工艺的经济可行性。微流控系统已针对各种生物学应用进行了开发，并且具有以无与伦比的精度控制和研究细胞微环境的内在能力；因此，它们与克服这种转化障碍特别相关。微流控技术的发展越来越多地利用干细胞，解决与干细胞相关的生物学现象，并使能力与转化挑战和目标保持一致。在这篇简明的综述中，我们描述了微流控技术如何有助于干细胞研究成果的转化，并介绍了该领域的创新性研究进展。干细胞转化挑战和微流控能力的这种及时融合意味着现在两个学科都有机会从增加的互动中受益。
