UC San Diego

This thesis focuses on creating an alternative substrate to replace current exogenous material, which has limited clinical use for cell applications. The subjects of study were on neurodegenerative diseases, particularly those that resulted in the damage or loss of a patient's neurons and supporting cells. Of the various sources of transplants for the cell therapy of these diseases (like embryonic, fetal, adult, and induced pluripotent stem cells), we chose to focus our research on NPCs derived from human pluripotent stem cells, which have the ability to rapidly proliferate and differentiate into all neuron lineages. It was also important to have a system for these cells to survive and multiply, while maintaining functionality. To quickly screen a library of polymers, we used a high throughput approach on a polymer array to find the best material suited for expansion. As a result, we determined that P4VF was the best substrate polymer for long term support of NPC self-renewal and growth. In addition, this polymer also supported neuron differentiation