Methods of cell culture using patterned SAM arrays are disclosed. Advantageously, the disclosed methods use SAM arrays presenting adhesion peptides to grow confluent monolayers that can invaginate to form an embryoid body.

A multilayer sheet of cells, comprising a layer of endothelial cells, and a layer of podocytes is disclosed.

Provided herein are compositions, devices, and systems comprising thermoresponsive, biodegradable elastomeric materials, and methods of use and manufacture thereof.

An improved process for producing a regenerated corneal endothelial cell sheet, comprising the steps of allowing corneal endothelial cells collected from a tissue to be cultivated on a cell culture support having its surface covered with a polymer of which the hydrating force varies in a temperature range of 0-80 C., and after the culture, (1) adjusting the temperature of the culture solution to the temperature at which the polymer on the substrate surface is hydrated, (2) bringing the cultured corneal endothelial cell sheet into close contact with a carrier, and (3) detaching the sheet together with the carrier. The regenerated corneal endothelial cell sheet obtained by the process will adhere very well to living tissues.

The present invention provides compositions comprising aligned fibers of electrospun PNIPAAm and poly (-caprolactone) (PCL) (denoted PNIPAAm/PCL fibers). The PNIPAAm/PCL compositions enable enhanced growth and detachment of intact anisotropic cell sheets. The compositions do not require chemical modification or resource-intensive techniques, thus saving time and expense, and have the potential to generate tissue-specific, aligned cell sheets for transplant studies.

A diseased site where an anterior segment tissue is partly or entirely damaged or deficient can be treated using a corneal epithelium forming cell sheet that will adhere well to the anterior segment tissue. To attain this objective, a corneal epithelium forming cell sheet is produced by a process comprising the steps of cultivating under specified conditions corneal epithelium forming cells on a cell culture support comprising a substrate having its surface covered with a temperature responsive polymer of which the hydrating force varies in a temperature range of 0 C.-80 C., optionally stratifying the layer of cultured cells, and thereafter, (1) adjusting the temperature of the culture solution to either above an upper critical dissolution temperature or below a lower critical dissolution temperature, (2) bringing the cultured corneal epithelium forming cells into close contact with a carrier, and (3) detaching the sheet together with the carrier under specified conditions.

A carrier for expansion of pluripotent stem cells is provided, wherein the carrier comprises a substrate comprising one or more outer surfaces, wherein the one or more outer surfaces are modified with gas plasma treatment, and one or more structured indentations on one or more of the outer surfaces. The carrier has a length at least about 0.2 mm, a width at least about 0.2 mm, and a height in a range from about 0.05 mm to 1.2 mm and each of the structured indentations has a major axis in a range from about 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, a minor axis in a range from about 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm and a depth in a range from about 0.025 mm to about 0.5 mm. A method of making the carrier, and culturing stromal cells using the same carrier are also provided.

Provided is a cell culture substrate, in which polymer (B) having a lower critical solution temperature contained in the substrate is a copolymer of a monomer (a) that becomes a hydrophobic polymer in homopolymerization and a monomer (b, c or d) that becomes a hydrophilic polymer in homopolymerization, which is uncrosslinked, and the lower critical solution temperature of the obtained copolymer (B) can be controlled widely by the types and ratio of the two monomers, to easily detach the cultured cells from the culture substrate surface rapidly without using protein hydrolase and collect the cells without damage. This cell culture substrate contains a polymer (A) of a (meth)acrylic acid ester monomer (a), one or more types of inorganic materials (C) selected from a water-swellable clay mineral and silica, and a polymer (B) having a lower critical solution temperature and including a monomer (a) and a monomer (b, c or d).

The disclosure provides a human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (hBMSC) sheet comprising one or more layers of human hBMSCs, wherein the cell sheet is prepared from a human clonal bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell line generated from a single cell. The disclosure also provides methods for producing human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell sheets comprising culturing hBMSCs in culture solution on a temperature-responsive polymer which has been coated onto a substrate surface of a cell culture support, wherein the temperature-responsive polymer has a lower critical solution temperature in water of 0-80 C.; adjusting the temperature of the culture solution to below the lower critical solution temperature, whereby the substrate surface is made hydrophilic and adhesion of the cell sheet to the surface is weakened; and detaching the cell sheet from the culture support. The cell sheet may be treated with interferon gamma (IFN-) or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF).

The present invention relates a method for chemical testing, comprising culturing cells in a first plant-derived nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) hydrogel to obtain in vivo like cells; exposing the in vivo like cells to a test chemical;

optionally within another plant-derived NFC hydrogel; incubating the exposed in vivo like cells; detecting during or after incubating, the impact of the test chemical on the in vivo like cells by at least one detection; and removing the plant-derived NFC hydrogel at least once at any stage after obtaining the in vivo like cells and before at least one detection used for detecting the impact of the test chemical on the in vivo like cells. The invention further relates to the use of plant-derived NFC hydrogel in a method for chemical testing, the use of in vivo like cells obtained by culturing cells in plant-derived NFC hydrogel for chemical testing and to a kit for chemical testing comprising plant-derived NFC hydrogel, instructions and a cell or test chemical library.