Hematopoietic stem cells

Abstract Transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) shows promising prospect for broad-spectrum hematological disorder therapy, owing to their potential to generate the entire hematopoietic lineages. However, the limited number of HSCs in either bone marrow or umbilical cord blood limits their widespread use. Hence, there is great interest in developing methods for ex vivo expansion and thus self-renewal of HSCs. Strategies based on nanomaterials or nanotechnologies seem hopeful to expand HSC numbers more efficiently and tune their properties ex vivo. In this chapter, we focus on recent advances in biomaterials-based tissue engineering studies of HSCs, such as hematopoietic niche mimic, functional regulation, and other potential applications. Moreover, we proposed the future scientific issues to be solved in advancing the preclinical translations.