The application describes a contractile cellular biomaterial that is particularly well suited to regenerative therapy of tissue affected by myocardial infraction. The biomaterial comprises a contractile tissue which is contained in an optionally porous solid substrate. The contractile tissue is formed by differentiating stem cells, in particular mesenchymal stem cells. In addition to being contractile, the biomaterial can have inducible paracrine activity. The biomaterial has, in particular, the advantage of not needing to be frozen in order to be conserved.

A layered material suitable as substrate for a three-dimensional cell culture includes a transparent carrier layer and a transparent conductive layer as well as a photoconductive layer comprising titanium oxide phthalocyanine. A method for producing the layered material and an article comprising it and a receiving unit are disclosed. A mold-free method is provided for forming a three-dimensional hydrogel as well as for forming a three-dimensional cell culture by using the layered material or article. Uses of the layered material and of the three-dimensional hydrogel and three-dimensional cell culture are also disclosed.

Methods are provided for the simple, fast, effective and safe directed differentiation of embryonic stem cells into the mature beta cells of enriched beta clusters, wherein the beta cells rapidly and reliably secrete insulin in response to glucose levels. The cells are useful transplant therapeutics for diabetic individuals. These cells can also be used for drug screening purposes to identify factors/chemicals capable of increasing beta cell functions, proliferation, survival, and resistance to immune assault.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cell culture substratum which has excellent resistance to liquid culture media and low cytotoxicity, can achieve a high cell adhesion ratio and a high viability of cultured cells, has excellent thermal stability, and is less likely to absorbs ultraviolet ray. A cell culture substratum which is provided with a substrate made from an inorganic material and has multiple concavo-convex structures on a culturing surface thereof, wherein, when the concavo-convex structures are measured with an atomic force microscope in accordance with JISB0601 and JISR1683 (measured area: a 1 μm-square, cut-off value of a low-pass contour curve filter: 1 nm, cut-off value of a high-pass contour curve filter: 170 nm), the average of the lengths of contour curve elements of the concavo-convex structures is 1 to 170 nm as measured in at least one direction (when a curve showing long-wavelength components that are blocked by the high-pass contour curve filter is converted to a straight line by the least square method, the average line is a line that is parallel with the straight line and indicates a height cumulative relative frequency distribution in the contour curve of 50%).

Sub-millimeter scale three-dimensional (3D) structures are disclosed with customizable chemical properties and/or functionality. The 3D structures are referred to as drop-carrier particles. The drop-carrier particles allow the selective association of one solution (i.e., a dispersed phased) with an interior portion of each of the drop-carrier particles, while a second non-miscible solution (i.e., a continuous phase) associates with an exterior portion of each of the drop-carrier particles due to the specific chemical and/or physical properties of the interior and exterior regions of the drop-carrier particles. The combined drop-carrier particle with the dispersed phase contained therein is referred to as a particle-drop. The selective association results in compartmentalization of the dispersed phase solution into sub-microliter-sized volumes contained in the drop-carrier particles. The compartmentalized volumes can be used for single-molecule assays as well as single-cell, and other single-entity assays.

Described herein are cellular scaffolds comprising a cell reservoir, a guide attached to the cell reservoir constructed from one or more biodegradable polymers, and a population of folliculo-genic cells. The cellular scaffolds are useful in growing hair.

The present invention relates to the use of gels for cell cultures, including but not limited to microfluidic devices and transwell devices, for culturing cells, such as organ cells, e.g. airway cells, intestinal cells, etc., and co-culturing cells, (e.g. parenchymal cells and endothelial cells, etc). As one example, the use of gels results in improved lung cell cultures, such as when using transwells and microfluidic devices, (e.g. for culturing healthy airway epithelial cells, culturing diseased airway epithelial cells, e.g., CF epithelial cells that are ciliated). The present invention relates to fluidic devices, methods and systems for use with gel layers within a microfluidic device. In particular, a partial gel layer is disposed within a microchannel of a microfluidic device. For example, a partial gel layer has a thickness ranging between approximately 20-100 μm. A dilute partial gel layer of less than 100 μm may be formed from a polymer solution of 0.5 mg/ml. A cell-permeable partial gel layer having a thickness ranging between approximately 20-50 μm may be formed from a polymer solution of 1-3 mg/ml. A partial gel layer may be formed by a hydrodynamic shearing technique. Such thin gel layers can support a variety of cell cultures, including but not limited to single cells, cell populations, cell layers, differentiated cell layers, and/or primary tissues. The present invention is related to the field of imaging and image processing. In particular, the invention is related to imaging that supports the determination of cell membrane cilia beating frequency. For example, methods described herein encompass cilia beat frequency in the context of membrane region and/or distances between regions. Alternatively, the methods described here encompass cilia beat synchrony and correlation of beat frequency between cell membrane regions.

This method for producing a cell cluster group comprises: a step for putting, into a well, a cell suspension obtained by suspending dispersed cells in a medium, using a cell incubator which includes the well and two or more recesses formed in the bottom of the well and in which the area of an opening of each recess in plan view is at most 1 mm.sup.2; a step for centrifuging the cell incubator; and a step for culturing the dispersed cells in the recesses.

The present invention relates to a method of producing cancer stem cells that comprises culturing a living cell population containing cancer cells in the presence of a gel substance to obtain a living cell population containing cancer stem cells, wherein the gel substance is a material that induces expression of osteopontin in at least a portion of cells contained in the living cell population. Moreover, the present invention relates to an agent for inducing conversion of cancer cells to cancer stem cells that comprises a gel substance that induces expression of osteopontin in at least a portion of the cells contained in a living cell population. The gel substance is a synthetic polymer gel composed of, for example, double network gel, PNaSS gel, PCDME gel, PA gel, RAMPS gel, PDMA gel or PAAc gel. The present invention provides means and a method that enable the preparation of cancer stem cells in a relatively short period of time and at a relatively low culturing cost without requiring expensive equipment.

A bacteriophage structure, a method of making the structure, and uses of the structure are described. The structure is a substrate with a surface having an ordered arrangement of parallel microridges thereon. Each microridge is composed of a plurality of nanoridges and has a longitudinal axis. Each nanoridge contains a bundle of phage nano fibers having longitudinal axes. The phage nanofibers in each nanoridge bundle are arranged in a substantially smectic alignment. The longitudinal axis of each microridge is perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the phage nanofibers which make up the nanoridges of the microridge. The structure may be used as a growth surface for inducing differentiation of stem cells such as neural progenitor cells.