New Screening Method Directs Stem Cell Differentiation

By

</head> <body> </body> </html></figcaption></figure> <p>Northwestern University scientists have developed a powerful analytical method that they have used to direct stem cell differentiation. Out of millions of possibilities, they rapidly identified the chemical and physical structures that can cue stem cells to become osteocytes, cells found in mature bone.</p> <p>Researchers can use the method, called nanocombinatorics, to build enormous libraries of physical structures varying in size from a few nanometers to many micrometers for addressing problems within and outside biology. </p> <p>Those in the fields of chemistry, materials engineering, and nanotechnology could use this invaluable tool to assess which chemical and physical structures — including size, shape, and composition — work best for a desired process or function.</p> <p>Nanocombinatorics holds promise for screening catalysts for energy conversion, understanding properties conferred by nanostructures, identifying active molecules for drug discovery, or even optimizing materials for tissue regeneration, among other application.</p> <p>Details of the method and proof of concept is published in the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.</p> <p>With further development, researchers might be able to use this approach to prepare cells of any lineage on command,” said <a href="http://chemgroups.northwestern.edu/mirkingroup/">Chad A. Mirkin</a>, who led the work. “Insight into such a process is important for understanding cancer development and for developing novel cancer treatment methodologies.</p> <p>Mirkin is professor of <a href="http://www.medicine.northwestern.edu/">medicine</a> and George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the <a href="http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/">Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences</a>, and professor of chemical and biological engineering, biomedical engineering, and materials science and engineering. He also is the director of Northwestern’s <a href="http://www.iinano.org/">International Institute for Nanotechnology</a>.</p> <p>The new analytical method utilizes a technique invented at Northwestern called polymer pen lithography, where basically a rubber stamp having as many as 11 million sharp pyramids is mounted on a transparent glass backing and precisely controlled by an atomic force microscope to generate desired patterns on a surface. Each pyramid — a polymeric pen — is coated with molecules for a particular purpose.</p> <p>In this work, the researchers used molecules that bind proteins found in the natural cell environment, such as fibronectin, which could then be attached onto a substrate in various patterns. Fibronectin is a protein that mediates cell adhesion. The team rapidly prepared millions of textured features over a large area, which they call a library. The library consisted of approximately 10,000 fibronectin patterns having as many as 25 million features ranging in size from a couple hundred nanometers to several micrometers.</p> <p>To make these surfaces, they intentionally tilt the stamp and its array of pens as the stamp is brought down onto the substrate, each pen delivering a spot of molecules that could then bind fibronectin. The tilt results in different amounts of pressure on the polymeric pens, which dictates the feature size of each spot. Because the pressure varies across a broad range, so does the feature size.</p> <p>The researchers then introduced mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, to the library of millions of fibronectin features. MSCs are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into a variety of other cell types.</p> <p>We let the cells sample the library and watched what happened,” Mirkin said.</p> <p><span>He and his team found areas with stem cell differentiation and areas with none. Nanoscale features, particularly protein spots that were 300 nanometers in diameter, were more likely to lead to bone-like cells than larger micron-scale features.</span></p> <p>The researchers next built a library made up of only 300-nanometer dots and introduced stem cells. Almost all of the cells became bone-like.</p> <p>We want to make stem cells go down a predetermined path — to make bone cells instead of nerve or muscle cells,” Mirkin said. “Starting with millions of possibilities, we quickly zeroed in on the pattern of protein features that best directed the cells to become osteocytes.</p> <p>This stem cell differentiation was accomplished without the use of additional chemical cues (beyond the proteins in the patterns). The transition from stem cell to osteocyte was dictated solely by the physical cues of the patterned structures. And the researchers demonstrated better control over stem cell differentiation than chemical reagent methods currently used.</p> <p>It doesn’t stop with stem cells,” Mirkin said. “Scientists can use nanocombinatorics to build libraries of structures that vary in shape, size, and distance between particles and determine the best structures for controlling important events, like speeding up a catalytic reaction.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.wpafb.af.mil/afrl/afosr/">Air Force Office of Scientific Research</a>, the <a href="http://cancer.gov/">National Cancer Institute</a>, the <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a>, and the <a href="http://www.darpa.mil/">Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency</a> supported the research.</p> <p>The title of the paper is “<a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/02/27/1201086109.short?rss=1">Scanning Probe-Enabled Nanocombinatorics Define the Relationship Between Fibronectin Feature Size and Stem Cell Fate</a>.” In addition to Mirkin, other authors of the paper are Louise R. Giam (first author), Matthew D. Massich, Liangliang Hao, Lu Shin Wong, and Christopher C. Mader.</p> <p><em>Members of the media, please contact <a href="mailto:fellman@northwestern.edu">Megan Fellman</a> via e-mail or at (847) 491-3115 for more information about this story.</em></p> </div></div> <div style="margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)" class="taxonomy-post_tag d-flex wp-block-post-terms"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/tag/research/" rel="tag">Research</a></div></div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:33.33%" id="sidebar"><div class="wp-block-template-part"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" style="margin-top:0;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0px">Latest News</h2> <div class="wp-block-query is-layout-flow wp-block-query-is-layout-flow"><ul class="wp-block-post-template is-layout-flow wp-block-post-template-is-layout-flow"><li class="wp-block-post post-169096 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-disease-discoveries tag-neurology tag-press-release tag-research byline-amanda-morris"> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-4 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex" style="border-top-color:#e8e8e8;border-top-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:35%"><figure style="aspect-ratio:16/9;" class="wp-block-post-featured-image"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/18/als-drug-effectively-treats-alzheimers-disease-in-new-animal-study/" target="_self" ><img width="2309" height="1299" src="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="ALS Drug Effectively Treats Alzheimer’s Disease in New Animal Study" style="width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons.jpg 2309w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons-300x169.jpg 300w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons-768x432.jpg 768w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons-150x84.jpg 150w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons-450x253.jpg 450w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Neurons-1200x675.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 2309px) 100vw, 2309px" /></a></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-8 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:65%"><h3 class="wp-block-post-title"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/18/als-drug-effectively-treats-alzheimers-disease-in-new-animal-study/" target="_self" >ALS Drug Effectively Treats Alzheimer’s Disease in New Animal Study</a></h3> <div style="color:#6b6b6b;" class="has-link-color wp-elements-fe00fc85e16d1ce955329a468fe2d185 wp-block-post-date has-text-color"><time datetime="2025-04-18T08:56:51-05:00">Apr 18, 2025</time></div></div> </div> </li><li class="wp-block-post post-169107 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-disease-discoveries tag-biochemistry-and-molecular-genetics tag-medicine tag-research byline-melissa-rohman"> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-5 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex" style="border-top-color:#e8e8e8;border-top-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:35%"><figure style="aspect-ratio:16/9;" class="wp-block-post-featured-image"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/17/study-identifies-link-between-body-clock-disruption-and-metabolic-disease/" target="_self" ><img loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Circadian-clock.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Study Identifies Link Between Body Clock Disruption and Metabolic Disease" style="width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;" decoding="async" srcset="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Circadian-clock.jpg 1000w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Circadian-clock-300x200.jpg 300w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Circadian-clock-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></a></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-10 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:65%"><h3 class="wp-block-post-title"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/17/study-identifies-link-between-body-clock-disruption-and-metabolic-disease/" target="_self" >Study Identifies Link Between Body Clock Disruption and Metabolic Disease</a></h3> <div style="color:#6b6b6b;" class="has-link-color wp-elements-fe00fc85e16d1ce955329a468fe2d185 wp-block-post-date has-text-color"><time datetime="2025-04-17T09:37:46-05:00">Apr 17, 2025</time></div></div> </div> </li><li class="wp-block-post post-169090 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-scientific-advances tag-cell-and-developmental-biology tag-research byline-olivia-dimmer"> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-6 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex" style="border-top-color:#e8e8e8;border-top-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:35%"><figure style="aspect-ratio:16/9;" class="wp-block-post-featured-image"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/16/investigating-cytoskeletal-filament-formation/" target="_self" ><img loading="lazy" width="591" height="591" src="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1370146608.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Investigating Cytoskeletal Filament Formation" style="width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;" decoding="async" srcset="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1370146608.jpg 591w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1370146608-300x300.jpg 300w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1370146608-150x150.jpg 150w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1370146608-450x450.jpg 450w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 591px) 100vw, 591px" /></a></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-12 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:65%"><h3 class="wp-block-post-title"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/16/investigating-cytoskeletal-filament-formation/" target="_self" >Investigating Cytoskeletal Filament Formation</a></h3> <div style="color:#6b6b6b;" class="has-link-color wp-elements-fe00fc85e16d1ce955329a468fe2d185 wp-block-post-date has-text-color"><time datetime="2025-04-16T09:33:16-05:00">Apr 16, 2025</time></div></div> </div> </li><li class="wp-block-post post-169080 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-clinical-breakthroughs tag-medicine tag-public-health tag-research byline-melissa-rohman"> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex" style="border-top-color:#e8e8e8;border-top-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:35%"><figure style="aspect-ratio:16/9;" class="wp-block-post-featured-image"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/15/improving-patient-screening-for-housing-instability/" target="_self" ><img width="2121" height="1414" src="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Improving Patient Screening for Housing Instability" style="width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR.jpg 2121w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR-300x200.jpg 300w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR-768x512.jpg 768w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR-150x100.jpg 150w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR-450x300.jpg 450w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/EHR-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2121px) 100vw, 2121px" /></a></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-14 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:65%"><h3 class="wp-block-post-title"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/15/improving-patient-screening-for-housing-instability/" target="_self" >Improving Patient Screening for Housing Instability</a></h3> <div style="color:#6b6b6b;" class="has-link-color wp-elements-fe00fc85e16d1ce955329a468fe2d185 wp-block-post-date has-text-color"><time datetime="2025-04-15T09:28:27-05:00">Apr 15, 2025</time></div></div> </div> </li><li class="wp-block-post post-169058 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-campus-news tag-cancer tag-faculty tag-leadership byline-olivia-dimmer"> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex" style="border-top-color:#e8e8e8;border-top-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:35%"><figure style="aspect-ratio:16/9;" class="wp-block-post-featured-image"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/14/leading-precision-medicine-expert-mohamed-abazeed-md-phd-named-chair-of-radiation-oncology/" target="_self" ><img width="550" height="220" src="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ward_flags_550-220.png" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Leading Precision Medicine Expert, Mohamed Abazeed, MD, PhD, Named Chair of Radiation Oncology" style="width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ward_flags_550-220.png 550w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ward_flags_550-220-300x120.png 300w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ward_flags_550-220-150x60.png 150w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ward_flags_550-220-450x180.png 450w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" /></a></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-16 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:65%"><h3 class="wp-block-post-title"><a href="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2025/04/14/leading-precision-medicine-expert-mohamed-abazeed-md-phd-named-chair-of-radiation-oncology/" target="_self" >Leading Precision Medicine Expert, Mohamed Abazeed, MD, PhD, Named Chair of Radiation Oncology</a></h3> <div style="color:#6b6b6b;" class="has-link-color wp-elements-fe00fc85e16d1ce955329a468fe2d185 wp-block-post-date has-text-color"><time datetime="2025-04-14T09:58:55-05:00">Apr 14, 2025</time></div></div> </div> </li><li class="wp-block-post post-169047 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-campus-news tag-education tag-medical-education tag-students byline-northwestern-university-feinberg-school-of-medicine"> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex" style="border-top-color:#e8e8e8;border-top-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:35%"><figure style="aspect-ratio:16/9;" class="wp-block-post-featured-image"><a href="https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/health-equity/about/news/2025/nudoc.html#new_tab" target="_self" ><img width="836" height="400" src="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/nudocs.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="NUDOCS Program Guides Aspiring Physicians on the Path to Medicine" style="width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/nudocs.jpg 836w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/nudocs-300x144.jpg 300w, https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/nudocs-768x367.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px" /></a></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-18 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:65%"><h3 class="wp-block-post-title"><a href="https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/health-equity/about/news/2025/nudoc.html#new_tab" target="_self" >NUDOCS Program Guides Aspiring Physicians on the Path to Medicine</a></h3> <div style="color:#6b6b6b;" class="has-link-color wp-elements-fe00fc85e16d1ce955329a468fe2d185 wp-block-post-date has-text-color"><time datetime="2025-04-11T10:35:39-05:00">Apr 11, 2025</time></div></div> </div> </li></ul></div> </div></div> </div> </div> <footer class="wp-block-template-part"> <div class="wp-block-group has-custom-fsm-primary-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-9 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" style="padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"> <ul id="footer-site-links" class="wp-block-list list-unstyled d-md-flex justify-content-md-between has-link-color wp-elements-31953fcbb75224d61092b0c9773c665c"> <li><a href="/">News Center Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://news-test.fsm.northwestern.edu/category/" data-type="page" data-id="22230">Categories</a></li> <li><a href="/tag/press-release">Press Release</a></li> <li><a href="/media-coverage">Media Coverage</a></li> <li><a href="/editors-picks">Editor’s Picks</a></li> <li><a href="/news-archives">News Archives</a></li> <li><a href="/about-us">About Us</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="wp-block-group has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-10 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained" style="background-color:#401f68;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)"> <ul id="menu-footer-nu-links" class="wp-block-list list-unstyled d-md-flex flex-md-wrap justify-content-md-between has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-66e1f763acfde23645429d93a0a65b0a"> <li>Copyright © 2025 Northwestern University</li> <li><a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/contact.html">Contact Northwestern University</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/disclaimer.html">Disclaimer</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/emergency/index.html">Campus Emergency Information</a></li> <li><a href="https://policies.northwestern.edu/">Policy Statements</a></li> </ul> </div> </footer></div> <script id="wp-block-template-skip-link-js-after"> ( function() { var skipLinkTarget = document.querySelector( 'main' ), sibling, skipLinkTargetID, skipLink; // Early exit if a skip-link target can't be located. if ( ! skipLinkTarget ) { return; } /* * Get the site wrapper. * The skip-link will be injected in the beginning of it. */ sibling = document.querySelector( '.wp-site-blocks' ); // Early exit if the root element was not found. if ( ! sibling ) { return; } // Get the skip-link target's ID, and generate one if it doesn't exist. skipLinkTargetID = skipLinkTarget.id; if ( ! skipLinkTargetID ) { skipLinkTargetID = 'wp--skip-link--target'; skipLinkTarget.id = skipLinkTargetID; } // Create the skip link. skipLink = document.createElement( 'a' ); skipLink.classList.add( 'skip-link', 'screen-reader-text' ); skipLink.href = '#' + skipLinkTargetID; skipLink.innerHTML = 'Skip to content'; // Inject the skip link. sibling.parentElement.insertBefore( skipLink, sibling ); }() ); </script> <script src="https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/wp-content/plugins/page-links-to/dist/new-tab.js?ver=3.3.7" id="page-links-to-js"></script> </body> </html>