Particulate Delivery Vehicles for Embryoid Bodies
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsLino da Silva Ferreira, Daniel Kohane, Robert Langer
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Abstract
The present invention provides a vehicle for delivering various chemicals, compositions and proteins to stem cells and embryoid bodies. The vehicle may be biocompatible and biodegradable polymer microparticles. Typically the particles will contain at least a growth factor for delivery to the embryoid bodies, and generally the growth factor induces differentiation of the cells in the embryoid body along a specific lineage. The present invention also provides methods for directing differentiation of the cells in the embryoid body.
Claims52
A method of directing differentiation of stem cells comprising the steps of:
- providing stem cells;
- providing a microparticle wherein the microparticle comprises a growth factor;
- contacting the stem cells with the microparticles under conditions suitable to effect differentiation of the cells of the embryoid bodies.
A composition comprising embryoid bodies, and microparticles wherein the microparticles comprise a polymer, and a growth.
A method of directing differentiation of cells of embryoid bodies comprising the steps of:
- providing embryoid bodies;
- providing microparticles wherein the microparticles comprise VEGF165, bFGF, or P1GF;
- and
- contacting the embryoid bodies with the microparticles under conditions suitable to effect differentiation of the cells of the embryoid bodies;
- wherein the cells of the embryoid bodies differentiate toward vascular cells.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.