Isolation and culture of primary rat adipose derived stem cells using porous biopolymer microcarriers

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are an attractive source of material for mesenchymal stem cell research due to the abundance of adipose and relative ease of access compared with bone marrow. A key consideration for research is whether cell isolation methods can be improved, to reduce the process steps needed to isolate and expand cell material. In the current study, we used macroporous biopolymer microcarriers to isolate primary ADSCs. We found that the method was capable of isolating ADSCs that were subsequently capable of being transferred to culture dishes and expanded in vitro. Moreover, flow cytometry revealed that they expressed typical stem cell markers and were capable of undergoing tri-lineage differentiation. In summary, it is feasible to use biopolymer microcarriers for retrieval of viable ADSCs that retain identity markers of stem cell function.