title: New opportunities: the use of nanotechnologies to manipulate and track stem cells.
abstract: Nanotechnologies are emerging platforms that could be useful in measuring, understanding, and manipulating stem cells. Examples include magnetic nanoparticles and quantum dots for stem cell labeling and in vivo tracking; nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, and polyplexes for the intracellular delivery of genes/oligonucleotides and protein/peptides; and engineered nanometer-scale scaffolds for stem cell differentiation and transplantation. This review examines the use of nanotechnologies for stem cell tracking, differentiation, and transplantation. We further discuss their utility and the potential concerns regarding their cytotoxicity.
authors.affiliation: Center of Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal. lino@biocant.pt
authors.forename: Lino
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Karp
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nobre
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Langer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D032701:Biomimetics / Q000639:trends; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D033041:Embryo Research; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000639:trends*