Stanford researchers have patented a hydrogel system which allows for the easy encapsulation of cells and biomolecules without requiring external changes in environmental conditions or exposure to chemical crosslinkers.
Running chemotherapeutic drug screens on tumor biopsies ex vivo has the potential to increase patient survival by personally matching them to the drug which is the most effective against their particular tumor.
Researchers in Dr. Christina Smolke's lab have generated novel RNA aptamer sensors that can be used to regulate gene expression in response to the clinically relevant drug folinic acid.
Hydrogel-based tissue engineering scaffolds are widely used for culturing cells in three dimensions (3D) due to their tissue-like water content, tunable biochemical and physical properties, and ease of cell encapsulation and distribution in 3D.