Background Although umbilical cord blood (UCB) is identified as a source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with various advantages, the success in cell isolation is volatile. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize methods of cord blood-derived MSC (UCB-MSC) isolation and culture. In this study, we evaluated the efficiency of UCB-MSC isolation and expansion using different commercially available serum- and xeno-free media and investigated the capacity of autologous serum and plasma as a supplement to support cell proliferation. Additionally, we defined the presence of multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring (Muse) cells in the UCB-MSC population. Functions of UCB-MSC in in vitro angiogenesis processes and anti-cancer were also verified. Methods Mononuclear cells were isolated using density gradient separation and cultured in four commercial media kits, as well as four surface coating solutions. UCB-MSCs were characterized and tested on tube formation assay, and co-cultured with SK-MEL cells in a transwell system. Results The results showed that only StemMACS™ MSC Expansion Media is more appropriate to isolate and culture UCB-MSCs. The cells exhibited a high cell proliferation rate, CFU forming capability, MSC surface marker expression, trilineage differentiate potential, and chromosome stability. In addition, the culture conditions with autologous serum coating and autologous plasma supplement enhanced cell growth and colony forming. This cell population contained Muse cells at rate of 0.3%. Moreover, UCB-MSCs could induce the tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and inhibit more than 50% of SK-MEL cell growth. Conclusions UCB-MSCs could be high-yield isolated and expanded under serum- and xeno-free conditions by using the StemMACS™ MSC Expansion Media kit. Autologous serum coating and plasma supplement enhanced cell proliferation. These UCB-MSCs had effected the tube formation process and an anti-cancer impact.

Near-infrared (NIR) transillumination imaging is useful in many biomedical applications such as human biometrics and animal experiments. However, the image quality is generally poor due to the strong scattering in the body tissue. The authentication using the transillumination image of the palm vein and the finger vein is common these days, but there are some problems left such as misidentification and unidentifiability. To solve these problems with a simpler system than common ones, we have attempted to develop a biometric identification technique using the NIR transillumination and scattering suppression techniques. An array of LED's was placed at one side of the palm and a transillumination image was obtained with a low-cost CCD camera at another side of the palm. The image was processed by the deconvolution with the appropriate point spread function (PSF). The PSF was originally derived from the diffusion approximation of transport equation for the light source in turbid medium. We found that it can be applied for the scattering suppression in transillumination imaging of absorbing structure inside turbid medium. Even with the simple system, a clear vein image which was sufficient for authentication was obtained successfully.