Heparin mimics and fibroblast growth factor-2 fabricated nanogold composite in promoting neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells.

The replacement therapy or transplantation using neural cells, which differentiated from stem cells, has emerged as a promising strategy for repairing damaged neural tissues and helping functional recovery in the treatment of neural system diseases. The challenge, however, is how to control embryonic stem cell fate so that neural differentiation can be efficiently directed to enrich a neuron cell population, and meanwhile to maintain their bioactivities. This is a key question and has a very significant impact in regenerative medicine.

Universal Antibacterial Surfaces Fabricated from Quaternary Ammonium Salt-Based PNIPAM Microgels.

Because of the excellent film-forming ability of poly(-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel and high-efficient bactericidal property of quaternary ammonium salt (QAS), QAS-based PNIPAM (QAS-PNIPAM) microgels are synthesized and employed to modify the surface of a range of commonly used materials including metal, plastic, and elastomer. Bacterial culture is carried out on such QAS-PNIPAM microgel-modified surfaces to examine the viability of the attached bacteria. It is found that the bactericidal efficiency is nearly 100% on the modified surfaces of all the studied materials.

Deciphering the Role of Sulfonated Unit in Heparin-Mimicking Polymer to Promote Neural Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), especially heparin and heparan sulfate (HS), hold great potential for inducing the neural differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and have brought new hope for the treatment of neurological diseases. However, the disadvantages of natural heparin/HS, such as difficulty in isolating them with a sufficient amount, highly heterogeneous structure, and the risk of immune responses, have limited their further therapeutic applications. Thus, there is a great demand for stable, controllable, and well-defined synthetic alternatives of heparin/HS with more effective biological functions.

Promoting neural differentiation of embryonic stem cells using β-cyclodextrin sulfonate.

A heparin-mimicking biomolecule, β-cyclodextrin decorated with sulfonate groups (CD-S), was synthesized. CD-S itself exhibited bioactivity similar to that of heparin and can further serve as a carrier for all-trans retinoic acid by forming inclusion complexes that promote neural differentiation of embryonic stem cells more effectively than heparin.