Injectable Stem Cells for Muscle Repair
October 23, 2018 | Terry Sharrer
Though the term “hydrogel” originated in the late 19th century, its modern definition as a hydrophilic crosslinked polymer dates from 1960 with the invention of soft contact lens. Since then, hydrogels have found numerous applications in medicine, as this piece from chemical engineers at Georgia Tech—about encapsulating muscle satellite cells in hydrogel for injection into damaged or aging muscle—illustrates. The gel protects the stem cells from immune reactions and then slowly dissolves releasing the cells. So far, this has only been shown in animal models. MORE
Image Credit: Georgia Tech