CHAPTER 14. Decellularized Cell-Secreted Matrices: Novel Materials for Superior Stem Cell Expansion and Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Decellularized cell secreted matrices (dECMs) are an emerging class of materials with unique and beneficial biological properties, and have found wide-ranging applications in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. These materials are obtained through the decellularization of cell cultures, resulting in the isolation of an extracellular matrix that is believed to be a more biologically accurate representation of the in vivo cell niche compared with conventional cell culture substrates. In this chapter, we discuss the methods used to produce and characterize the dECMs, as well as the beneficial biological properties that have made them promising materials in cell expansion and tissue engineering applications.