Nanoparticle-Coated Microtubes for the Manipulation of Cancer Cells

The development of novel methods for the isolation of primary stem and progenitor cells is important for the treatment of blood cancers, tissue engineering, and basic research in the biomedical sciences. Our lab has previously shown that microtubes coated with P-selectin protein can be used to capture and enrich hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from a mixture of cells perfused through the tube at physiologically-relevant shear stresses[1][2], and that using a surface coating of colloidal silica nanoparticles (12 nm diameter, 30% by weight SiO₂) increased cell capture and decreased rolling velocity[3]. Here we show that 50 nm colloidal silica nanoparticle coatings may similarly increase cell capture, and that these protocols are effective for enrichment of human adult CD34-positive HSCs from primary apheresis and bone marrow aspirate samples. Future research may include long-term colony-forming assays to confirm stem cell activity of enriched cells, and transplantation in immune-deficient mice.