The surfaces of bio-inert materials on which cells do not proliferate, differentiate nor de-differentiate have not yet been studied extensively. These materials are useful culturing and/or preserving embryonic stem (ES) cells and various other kinds of stem cells, including hematopoietic stem cells for regenerative medicine. The final goal of this project is to develop and investigate the bio-inert materials for the preservation and cultivation of stem cells for regenerative medicine. We develope tissue culture flasks having different types of flexible and hydrophilic nano-segments from several types of Pluronic (PEO-PPO-PEO). We propose that the existence of hydrophilic nano-segments (nano-brushes) of Pluronic on the tissue culture flasks induces bio-inert storage of stem cells, when the umbilical cord blood and ES cells are stored and cultured in the tissue culture flasks having nano-brushes (i.e., Pluronic-immobilized flasks). We investigate the effect of the hydrophilicity of nano-segments of the tissue culture flasks on the viability of various types of stem cells including hematopoietic stem cells to obtain the bio-inert materials for the preservation and cultivation of the stem cells in the regenerative medicine. We further plan to investigate the effect of concentration and length of Pluronic (nano-brushes) on the tissue culture flasks on the viability of hematopoietic stem cells. We also plan to culture not only hematopoietic stem cells but also ES cells on the Pluronic-immobilized tissue culture flasks. Finally, we are planning to investigate the mechanism of the bio-inert characteristics of biomaterials having nano-brush for stem cell survival from gene expression in the stem cells. We are also planning to develop the storage bags for umbilical cord blood (i.e., storage of hematopoietic stem cells) and mesenchymal stem cells for the clinical applications. We are expecting that the increase in viability of hematopoietic stem cells stored in our immobilized nano-brush immobilized storage bags will lead to clinical improvements in hematopoietic transfusion and leukemia disease. The goal of this project is (1) to develop the most appropriate bio-inert materials for the preservation and cultivation of various stem cells for regenerative medicine, and (2) to investigate the mechanism of the bio-inert characteristics of biomaterials having nano-brushes for stem cell survival from cell culture and gene expression in the stem cells, and (3) to show the importance of material engineering in the regenerative medicine from the development of bio-inert materials. 研究期間：9608 ~ 9707
