A 'fountain of youth' for stem cells?

(Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair) Stems cells used for transplantation in the nervous system to provide neural regeneration are fragile, but can be kept "forever young" during implantation through the use of self-assembling nanofiber scaffolds (SAPNS), a nanotechnology application for implanting young cells.

By manipulating cell density and SAPNS concentration, researchers used SAPNS as templates and guides to slow cell growth, differentiation and proliferation, thereby creating a protective nanoenvironment for a variety of neural cells destined for implantation.