Nano-magnets guide stem cells to damaged tissue

Microscopic magnetic particles have been used to bring stem cells to sites of cardiovascular injury in a new method designed to increase the capacity of cells to repair damaged tissue, UCL scientists announced today. The cross disciplinary research, published in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions , demonstrates a technique where endothelial progenitor cells ' a type of stem cell shown to be important in vascular healing processes ' have been magnetically tagged with a tiny iron-containing clinical agent, then successfully targeted to a site of arterial injury using a magnet positioned outside the body. Following magnetic targeting, there was a five-fold increase in cell localisation at a site of vascular injury in rats. The team also demonstrated a six-fold increase in cell capture in an in-vitro flow system (where microscopic particles are suspended in a stream of fluid and examined to see how they behave). Video: Human cells labelled with nano-magnets are attracted by an external magnet. In this video, the microscope is focused on the edge of a drop of cell-containing culture medium. When a magnet is placed near one side of the drop, the cells rapidly move toward it.