�Stem Cell Factories� of the Future? Scientists from the University of Nottingham in England have discovered a fully man-made substrate that could produce billions of human embryonic stem cells and move laboratory-based research to industrial-scale biomedicine. The research, published in the journal Advanced Materials, could lead the way for what the team calls �stem cell factories� � the mass production of human pluripotent stem cells.

Stem cells are being investigated to fight a number of diseases, and have even recently been considered as an option to treat mitochondrial disease, as the Los Angeles Times reported.

Morgan Alexander, professor of biomedical surfaces in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham, and Chris Denning, professor of stem cell biology in the School of Medicine led the research project, �Discovery of a Novel Polymer for Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Expansion and Multilineage Differentiation.� 

�The possibilities for regenerative medicine are still being reached in the form of clinical trials,� Alexander said in a news release. �What we are doing here is paving the way for the manufacture of stem cells in large numbers when those therapies are proved to be safe and effective.�

Potentially, the material could benefit clinical use in the treatment of the heart, liver and brain, according to the release.

Professor Denning said: �The field of regenerative medicine has snowballed in the last five years and over the coming five years a lot more patients will be receiving stem cell treatments. Clinical trials are still in the very early stages.  However, with this kind of product, if we can get it commercialized and validated by the regulators it could be helping patients in two to three years.�

The team used a high throughput materials discovery approach to discover the synthetic material, which they say is free from possible contamination and batch variability. 

The next hurdle for the research team is finding a commercial partner to test their lab findings on an industrial scale.

The research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).