Synergistically Controlled Stemness and Multilineage Differentiation Capacity of Stem Cells on Multifunctional Biointerfaces

Abstract

Demonstrations of defined and controlled stem cell culture or differentiation advance fundamental life science research and the possibility of curing diseases. Here, the multifunctional concept of using defined matrix/interface modifications to support cell culture is demonstrated to provide synergistic coupling of concurrently immobilized fibroblast growth factor 2 and chitosan, and the resulting cell culture matrix/interface enables the proliferation of spheroids of adipose stem cells with enhanced stemness and the capacity to (trans‐)differentiate into multiple cell lineages in the mesoderm, endoderm, and ectoderm. The modification and the coimmobilization are performed using a straightforward one‐step vapor‐based coating technology applicable to a wide range of cell culture materials. The coating technology raises the important prospect of designing a material interface that incorporates effective and sustainable factors to determine stem cell fate through the use of a facile multicomponent modification approach on culture substrates.