A research team from Yonsei University has developed a new cultivation platform that can produce high quality three-dimensional (3-D) stem cell spheroids expected to be widely used in curing blood-vessel diseases. Professor Taeyoon Lee of the Electrical Engineering department and Professor Seungwoo Cho of the Biological Engineering department developed a superhydrophobic surface that allows water drops to retain their original shape. A 3-D stem cell spheroid is a spherical collection of more than 1,000 single cells that demonstrates higher efficiency than a single stem cell. Minimizing surface contact during the cultivation process was an arduous yet imperative process under previous methods. Inspired by locus flowers and rose petals, the research team resolved this problem by implementing a superhydrophobic structure. The 3-D stem cell spheroids demonstrated twice the efficiency in treating blood-vessel diseases of stem cells cultivated under previous methods. The research team claimed that the research “is a new way of producing high quality stem cell spheroids without extra procedures” and that they “expect to apply this new technology to other types of cells and to various biological industries.” This research was published in the journal Advanced Materials and will be its main cover for the October edition.

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