UCLA

Human embryonic stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) can be potential used to in a stem cell-based regenerative therapy to cure heart related disease. The maturity of HESC-CMs still remains fetal-type even though many differentiation protocols have been discovered. In the first part of the thesis, I will focus on electrical physiological characterization of the maturation process of a confluent layer of hESC-CMs. With the high throughput of monitoring microelectrode array (MEA) system, we observed the development of hESC-CMs over weeks and analyze the electrophysiological features during maturation in great detail. In the second part of the thesis, we further investigate the external factors that can affect maturation process of stem cell derived cardiomyocytes in vitro such as electrical stimulation. In the third part of the thesis, the mechanical properties of cancer cells are explored. We discussed the role of mechanical factor in cancer cells. This could add a new dimensional approach in characterize and enhance the maturation of hESC-CMs in future research. In the fourth part of the thesis, we present nanoscale characterization of action and actin binding proteins using Atomic Force Mircoscope (AFM).