A small molecule, glucosamine, is used as targeting moiety for insulin-secreting beta cell separation in artificial cell mixtures and tissue samples. The specificity of glucosamine allows it to be used in cell sorting applications. In addition, a thrombin-specific cleavable peptide was used as an intermediary to release nanoparticles from cell surfaces to facilitate cell attachment and proliferation.
Keywords: beta cell separation; glucosamine; iron oxide nanoparticles; quantum dots.
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