Targeting Nanoparticle Probes to Differentiating Stem Cells

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Pluripotent stem cells offer great potential for treating diseases where cells are lost to injury or disease processes. The ability to specifically label progenitor cells in populations of differentiating stem cells will provide a powerful means of isolating and tracking progenitors of therapeutically useful cell types. We are adapting bacteriophage particles for use as nanoprobes for marking and following the fate of differentiating stem cells. First the targeting ligands for specific progenitors are selected from highly diverse peptide display libraries. The appropriately targeted phage particles are then conjugated to a fluorescent moiety such as quantum dots and used to specifically label the progenitor population. The labeled cells can then be isolated and characterized or allowed to differentiate in the context of a mixed stem cell population to determine their cell fate. We are currently investigating the use of phage-targeted nanoprobes to track progenitor cell migration patterns and cell fate using time-lapse fluorescent microscopy. We anticipate that cell-targeted nanoparticles will be generally applicable for marking progenitors derived from hES cells as well as other types of pluripotent or multipotent stem cells including iPS and adult stem cells.

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Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 2, Nanotechnology 2008: Life Sciences, Medicine & Bio Materials – Technical Proceedings of the 2008 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 2
Published: June 1, 2008
Pages: 430 - 433
Industry sectors: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing | Medical & Biotech
Topic: Biomaterials
ISBN: 978-1-4200-8504-4