Stem Cells

Stem cell research has the potential to produce novel treatments for previously incurable diseases and injuries. The application of controlled shear flow to undifferentiated embryonic stem cells promotes enhanced expansion of cell lines. Shear stress provides a stimulus for differentiation, particularly for cell types that naturally respond to physiological shear such as endothelial cells. Differentiation of cells into specific cell types and subsequent production of biomaterials is also facilitated by mechanical shear force. One example of this would be chondrocytes used to produce cartilage.

Undifferentiated MilliTrace Constitutive GFP Reporter Adult Rat Hippocampal Neural Stem Cells grown in a Bioflux microfludic channel on poly-l-ornithine and laminin.

• Creates precisely controlled, physiologically-relevant shear flows in the vicinity of the stem cells
• Uses substantially fewer cells and less media (down to 20µm) than conventional culturing vessels
• Supports high resolution microscopy using brightfield, phase, fluorescence and confocal imaging
• Enables parallel processing of experimental and control conditions for enhanced repeatability and reliability