Quantitative analysis of hMSC-seeded biological scaffolds using quantum dot nanoparticles

Adult myocardium has long been considered a post-mitotic tissue, incapable of self-repair after injury. Stem cells have recently been deployed with the hope that these undifferentiated cells might be induced to behave as functional cardiomyocytes. Stem cells can be delivered to the heart on a biological scaffold, but a challenge still remains in fully characterizing such engineered tissues. We use a novel method of labeling stem cells with quantum dot fluorescent nanoparticles (QDs) to visualize human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on an extracellular matrix. Images of QD-hMSCs are then quantitatively analyzed for determination of cell number and confluency.