Microsphere-Containing Cell Aggregate

• US 20120225483A1
• Filed: 11/12/2010
• Published: 09/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tabata, Yasuhiko
• Application Number:
  US13/509,151
• Publication Number:
  US 20120225483A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/382
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 11/084 Polymers containing vinyl alcohol units
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 11/087 Acrylic polymers
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 11/10 the carrier being a carbohydrate
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2533/54 Collagen; Gelatin
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2537/10 Cross-linking
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 5/0075 using microcarriers

Abstract

The present invention relates to a microsphere-containing cell aggregate including: hydrogel microspheres being obtained by chemical cross-linking of one or more water-soluble synthetic macromolecules selected from the group consisting of water-soluble synthetic polymers, polysaccharides, and proteins; and cells. The present invention also relates to a method for producing the microsphere-containing cell aggregate.

Claims

1. A microsphere-containing cell aggregate comprising:

hydrogel microspheres obtained by chemical cross-linking of one or more water-soluble synthetic macromolecules selected from the group consisting of a water-soluble synthetic polymer, a polysaccharide, and a protein; and

cells.

2. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein the water-soluble synthetic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyacrylamide, polyacrylic acid, polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate, and polyvinyl alcohol.

3. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein the polysaccharide is selected from the group consisting of glycosaminoglycan, starch, glycogen, agarose, pectin, and cellulose.

4. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein the protein is selected from the group consisting of collagen and a hydrolysate thereof which is a gelatin, proteoglycan, fibronectin, vitronectin, laminin, entactin, tenascin, thrombospondin, von Willebrand factor, osteopontin, and fibrinogen.

5. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, comprising:

gelatin hydrogel microspheres obtained by inter-molecular chemical cross-linking of gelatin; and

cells.

6. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein a cell adhesion protein or a cell adhesion peptide is coated or immobilized on the surface of the hydrogel microspheres.

7. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 6, wherein the cell adhesion protein or the cell adhesion peptide is selected from the group consisting of collagen, fibronectin, vitronectin, laminin, and glycosaminoglycan.

8. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein the hydrogel microsphere has a microsphere size of 50 nm to 1000 μ

m.

9. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 8, wherein the hydrogel microsphere has a microsphere size of 100 μ

m or more, between 20 and 100 μ

m, or between 5 and 20 μ

m.

10. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein the number of the hydrogel microspheres per cell is between 0.1 and 30.

11. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein the number of the cells per 0.1 mg of the hydrogel microsphere is between 300 and 3000.

12. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein the hydrogel microsphere comprises a cell growth factor.

13. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein when the hydrogel microsphere comprises gelatin, a range of concentration of gelatin is 1 to 20 w/w % and a range of concentration of a cross-linker is 0.01 to 1 w/w %.

14. The microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, wherein the cell is a stem cell.

15. A method for producing the microsphere-containing cell aggregate according to claim 1, the method comprising the step of culturing cells in a culture medium comprising hydrogel microspheres.