Devices for stem cell isolation and delivery: current need for drug discovery and cell therapy.

Isolation and purification of stem cells and their delivery into diseased or aged tissues or organs need special devices for proper transplantation of stem cells in order to achieve high cell retention at transplant site for repair or regeneration of tissues and organs. The clinical and preclinical importance of special devices such as Celution System, Isolex cell separation device, magnetic surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic dots, microfluidic devices, immunomagnetic cell separation for stem cell separation and isolation are the main focus in this paper. Further, devices like trans-coronary delivery, trans-endocardial delivery, intracoronary delivery devices for stem cell application to the heart are described. Devices for stem cell application to the brain, the spinal cord and other tissues are also explained. We highlighted scaffolds with incorporated stem cells and other encapsulation devices used to transplant stem cells. Current needs of devices for stem cells isolation, purification and delivery for drug discovery and cell therapy are discussed.