MACS – Acoustic Manipulation of Stem Cells

The aim of our project is to propose a new approach for cell manipulation, without mechanical contact, allowing stem cells culture to generate monolayers or organoids in a better and simpler way than conventional techniques. This technique is called acoustophoresis.

The first objective of the MACS (“Manipulation Acoustique de Cellules Souches” or Acoustic Manipulation of Stem Cells) project is to design new devices for stem cell cultures in acoustic levitation. Instead of growing the cells over a solid substrate, the cells grow away from the walls as a single monolayer. We think that using acoustic radiation force will facilitate cells self-organization and ideally lead to a construct entirely made by the cells themselves.

Once the principle is validated through rigorous evaluations of the cells functionality, it will be possible to design more complex structures like multiple monolayers or spheroids of stem cells in acoustic levitation. A possible application of this work is to develop coculture with hepatic companion cells (hepatocytes and cholangiocytes) under levitation, in order to enable better cell/cell interactions, and then to attempt generating liver spheroids in acoustic levitation.

Stem cells culture in acoustic levitation could be very useful to various therapeutic applications, like tissue repair by covering with a monolayer of mesenchymal stem cells (esophageal pathologies or cutaneous ulcerations for example) or regeneration/replacement of organs parts (liver damage, surgery of the gut…).