Surface-engineered substrates for improved human pluripotent stem cell culture under fully defined conditions
Krishanu Sahaa,1,Ying Meib,1,Colin M. Reistererb,Neena Kenton Pyzochaa, Jing Yangc, Julien Muffata, Martyn C. Daviesc, Morgan R. Alexanderc, Robert Langerb,d,e,2, Daniel G. Andersonb,d,e,2, andRudolf Jaenischa,f,2
+ Author Affiliations
a. The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142;
b. Department of Chemical Engineering,
d. David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and
e. Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
c. Laboratory of Biophysics and Surface Analysis, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom; and
f. Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142
Contributed by Robert Langer, September 20, 2011 (sent for review June 16, 2011)
Abstract
The current gold standard for the culture of human pluripotent stem cells requires the use of a feeder layer of cells. Here, we develop a spatially defined culture system based on UV/ozone radiation modification of typical cell culture plastics to define a favorable surface environment for human pluripotent stem cell culture. Chemical and geometrical optimization of the surfaces enables control of early cell aggregation from fully dissociated cells, as predicted from a numerical model of cell migration, and results in significant increases in cell growth of undifferentiated cells. These chemically defined xeno-free substrates generate more than three times the number of cells than feeder-containing substrates per surface area. Further, reprogramming and typical gene-targeting protocols can be readily performed on these engineered surfaces. These substrates provide an attractive cell culture platform for the production of clinically relevant factor-free reprogrammed cells from patient tissue samples and facilitate the definition of standardized scale-up friendly methods for disease modeling and cell therapeutic applications.
