Enhancing Cell-Based Therapies: Innovative Non-Enzymatic Cell Expansion and Harvesting via Dual-Responsive Alginate/PNIPAAM Carriers

Project ID: 2228cd1349 (You will need this ID for your application)

UCL Lead department: Eastman Dental Institute

Lead Supervisor: Linh Nguyen

Project Summary:

In scientific research and medical treatments, there’s a constant need for a large supply of cells. Cells are essential for both understanding science and providing therapies. The traditional methods we use to gather cells, like trypsin, are common but have their drawbacks, mainly in the potential damage they can cause to cell structures. In the context of clinical cell therapy, where we need a lot of cells, keeping these cells healthy and structurally intact is a big challenge. It’s not just about getting a large number of cells; they need to be in high quality for medical use. This requires coming up with new and creative solutions to overcome the problems we face with traditional cell harvesting methods. Our project is all about creating an advanced carrier system using special beads made of Alginate and PNIPAAm. These beads are clever because they can sense changes in temperature and pH. This design allows us to expand and collect cells without harming their structure. By lowering the temperature, this carrier system makes sure cell collection is both gentle and efficient, addressing the issues we see with traditional methods. The main goal of this project is to change the way we gather cells, especially in the field of clinical cell therapy. We want to not only meet but exceed the requirements for cell collection, making sure that the cells we gather are not just plentiful but also exceptionally healthy. With this innovative approach, we hope to improve the effectiveness and safety of cell-based therapies, leading to significant progress in medical science and patient care.