(4o) Chemical Modification of Stem Cell Membranes for Targeted Delivery of Cells and Therapeutics

Stem cell based therapies hold great promise for curing many diseases. Certain types of stem cells are known to have an innate ability to migrate to tumors. The cell membrane of stem cells is important and allows stem cells to recognize their microenvironment and receive signals. Here we describe a general technique to conjugate ligands on the cell membrane to enhance the homing ability of cells to areas of inflammation, which are associated with many diseases. Anchoring nanoparticles to these cells is a promising modality to target the delivery of therapeutics to tumors. We show that the nanoparticles can remain for up to 2 days on the cell membrane. Human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells with anchored nanoparticles were able to retain their inherent tumoritropic properties, as shown using a tumor model in a 3D extracellular matrix. Our results provide a novel strategy to actively deliver cells and therapeutics to areas of inflammation via chemical modification of the cell membranes.