Nanotechnology for regenerative medicine: nanomaterials for stem cell imaging

Although stem cells hold great potential for the treatment of many injuries and degenerative diseases, several obstacles must be overcome before their therapeutic application can be realized. These include the development of advanced techniques to understand and control functions of microenvironmental signals and novel methods to track and guide transplanted stem cells. The application of nanotechnology to stem cell biology would be able to address those challenges. This review details the current challenges in regenerative medicine, the current applications of nanoparticles in stem cell biology and further potential of nanotechnology approaches towards regenerative medicine, focusing mainly on magnetic nanoparticle- and quantum dot-based applications in stem cell research.