Miniaturized platform for high-throughput screening of stem cells.

Over the past decades stem cells have gained great interest in clinical research, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, due to their ability of self-renewal and potential to differentiate into the various cell types of the organism. The long-term maintenance of these unique properties and the control of stem cell differentiation in vitro, however, remains challenging, thus limiting their applicability in these fields. High-throughput screening (HTS) of stem cells is widely used by the researchers in order to gain more insight in the underlying mechanisms of stem cell fate as well as identifying compounds and factors maintaining stemness. However, limited availability and expandability of stem cells restricts the use of microtiter plates for HTS of stem cells emitting the urge for miniaturized platforms. This review highlights recent advances in the development of miniaturized platforms for HTS of stem cells and presents novel designs of miniaturized HTS systems.