Automatic Liquid Handling Robotics for 3D Stem Cell Microenvironmental Arrays

Stem cells have the potential to create promising new opportunities in healthcare. To leverage this potential, it is critical to understand how to control the behavior of these cells by rationally understanding how they self-organize and assemble into ordered three-dimensional structures. Synthetic hydrogels allow us to create such advanced microenvironments, providing us with unprecedented control over physical and chemical parameters which allow for stem cell growth and differentiation. In order to rapidly and reproducibly array such combinatorial microenvironments and discover novel parameters for three-dimensional conditions amenable to the assembly of stem cells, a robotic liquid handling robot is a critical piece of equipment. This equipment will be will be located in the new Corelabs building, shared among many groups interested in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, and ensure that KU Leuven is at the forefront of bioengineering research.

Keywords:robotics

Disciplines:Biomechanics