567a Assembly of Embryonic Stem Cell/Scaffold Three-Dimensional Constructs Using Carbon Dioxide Assisted Polymer Fusion

Yubing Xie1, Yong Yang1, Xihai Kang2, L. James Lee3, and Douglas A. Kniss2. (1) Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for Affordable Nanoengineering of Polymeric Biomedical Devices, The Ohio State University, 1381 Kinnear Road, Suite 100, Columbus, OH 43212, (2) Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Ohio State University, 1654 Upham Dr., Means Hall 5th Floor, Columbus, OH 43210, (3) Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Room 125A, Koffolt Labs., 140 W. 19th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210

Tissues are composed of multiple cells with well-organized three-dimensional (3-D) structure. Tissue-engineered constructs require well-defined 3-D chemical and spatial control over cells to assemble them into a functional structure that more faithfully mimics the tissue in vivo. Pattern formation is a hallmark of the precise control of cell behavior to recapitulate developmental processes in tissue- and organ-specific differentiation and morphogenesis. However, most of patterning is two-dimensional (2-D). It is challenge to assemble the 2-D patterned surfaces with cells into 3-D structure. Here, using low-pressure carbon dioxide, we demonstrated a biologically permissive fusion approach to assembling polymeric well-defined microstructure with embryonic stem (ES) cells grown on it into a multilayer cell-scaffold constructs. The mouse ES cells in the assembled constructs are viable, maintain the ES cell-specific gene expression of Oct-4, a canonical marker of pluripotency, and can further form embryonic bodies. In addition to tissue engineering, this CO2-assisted bio-assembly method can have wide applications in polymer-based MEMS/NEMS, such as biochips and drug/gene delivery devices.