Strategies to Maximize the Potential of Marine Biomaterials as a Platform for Cell Therapy

Abstract

Marine biopolymers have been explored as a promising cell therapy system for efficient cell delivery and tissue engineering. However, the marine biomaterial-based systems themselves have exhibited limited performance in terms of maintenance of cell viability and functions, promotion of cell proliferation and differentiation as well as cell delivery efficiency. Thus, numerous novel strategies have been devised to improve cell therapy outcomes. The strategies include optimization of physical and biochemical properties, provision of stimuli-responsive functions, and design of platforms for efficient cell delivery and tissue engineering. These approaches have demonstrated substantial improvement of therapeutic outcomes in a variety of research settings. In this review, therefore, research progress made with marine biomaterials as a platform for cell therapy is reported along with current research directions to further advance cell therapies as a tool to cure incurable diseases.

Keywords: cell therapy; delivery systems; marine biomaterials; optimization; stimuli-responsive systems; tissue engineering.

Figure 1

Advantages of marine biomaterials as a platform material for cell therapy applications and strategies suggested for improving outcomes.

Figure 2

Chemical structure of alginate. “m” and “n” indicate the number of α-l-glucuronic acid and β-d-mannuronic acid residues, respectively.

Figure 3

Chemical structure of chitosan. DA indicates the degree of N-acetylation of chitosan.

Figure 4

Chemical structure of kappa (κ), iota (ι), and lambda (λ)-carrageenans.

Figure 5

Chemical structure of agarose.