engleski

Nanotechnology Approaches for Autologous Stem Cell Manipulation in Personalized Regenerative Medicine

Personalized medicine is a new interdisciplinary approach, focused on the development of patient-specific therapies, which considers the fact that every person has unique genetic and physiological characteristics. Modern bionanotechnological procedures are used in personalized medicine mostly to allow the identification of a person’s genetic profile, but also to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic tools and procedures. Stem cells are a promising source of donor cells in regenerative medicine. In particular, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) represent a unique opportunity for self- therapies in a personalized approach. They can be derived from the patient’s somatic cells, such as fibroblasts, by the reprogramming process and successively differentiated in vitro into a required cell type, to be finally transplanted back into the patient. This autologous therapy eliminates the possibility of rejection and is ethically acceptable because it does not require manipulation of human embryos. Several disease- specific human iPSCs have been produced since their discovery, but also some serious problems have emerged. In this chapter we will describe how nanotechnological approaches, such as the use of nanoparticles (NPs) and nanostructured materials, can contribute in overcoming these obstacles to allow clinical applications of iPSCs.

stem cells ; nanotechnology ; personalized medicine

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