An automatic cell culture platform for differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells

Abstract We developed an automatic cell culture platform to facilitate the research and development of stem cell differentiation. This platform consists of a distributor of culture media containing different cell factors, a culture unit allowing either static or dynamic exchange of the medium and a central unit for pumping and process control, respectively. This platform was firstly used for cell culture with a tissue culture dish at a high medium exchange rate, showing an increased cell growth due to enhanced uptake of the nutrients and enhanced clearance of the metabolites. Then, the platform was used for automatic differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) toward cardiomyocytes which involved six types of culture media. As results, functional cardiomyocytes could be obtained after automatic processing during two weeks, showing regular beating over a large area. Details are described to show the applicability of the platform to other types of stem cell differentiation or cell-based assays.