Leveraging Biopolymers to Orchestrate Stem Cell Fate Toward Personalized Therapeutic Applications

This presentation highlights how engineered biopolymers can be leveraged to regulate stem cell fate and advance personalized therapeutic applications. Biopolymers provide tunable biochemical and biophysical cues that can mimic key features of the native three-dimensional (3D) microenvironment, thereby influencing stem cell adhesion, reprogramming, differentiation, and therapeutic function. First, I will introduce biopolymer-based 3D platforms designed to enhance cellular reprogramming and guide cell fate decisions. Second, I will present a novel strategy for isolating mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) through selective integrin-mediated interactions with functionalized biopolymer surfaces, enabling the efficient production of highly purified MSCs. I will further discuss recent advances in the large-scale production of bioactive stem cell-derived exosomes and the engineering of stem cell membrane-coated nanoparticles for targeted therapy. Collectively, these approaches demonstrate how biopolymers can serve as versatile tools for orchestrating stem cell behavior, standardizing the production of high-quality stem cell products, and supporting the development of personalized regenerative and therapeutic strategies.