Biomaterials Engineering as Stem Cells’ Niche

Stem cells have high potential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications due to their self-renewal and differentiation ability. The two main objectives pursued in culturing these types of cells are their proliferation in a culture medium by preservation of self-renewal capacity, as well as differentiation to the desired cell line. Thus in this case, controlling the fate of SCs is a crucial issue.
Traditionally, culturing of these cells was carried out in two-dimensional culture media with biochemical factors, but with the growth and development of biological knowledge and cell niche recognition, it was found that biochemical factors are not the only factor involved in cellular fate. With extensive research in this field, it was concluded that, along with biochemical signals, controlling biophysical signals by mechanical, geometrical and electrical cues is necessary to mimic the native cell niche to achieve a specific target. The goal of stem cell engineering is to synthesis a biomaterial that can apply all these conditions to tune the microenvironmental aspects for stem cells.