CellSqueeze

CellSqueeze is a method for deforming a cell as it passes through a small opening, disrupting the cell membrane and allowing material to be inserted into the cell.[1]

When used for the delivery of transcription factors, the device produced a marked improvement in colony formation compared with other methods like electroporation and cell-penetrating peptides. The method is a high-throughput, vector-free microfluidic platform for intracellular delivery of a wide range of materials, including carbon nanotubes, proteins and siRNA. The technique has been used for over 20 cell types, including embryonic stem cells and naïve immune cells.[2]

Method

The microfluidics platform is a device made up of channels etched into a wafer through which cells initially flow freely. As they move through the device, the channel width gradually narrows. The cell's flexible membrane allows it to change shape, allowing it to squeeze through. The forced rapid change in cell shape temporarily creates holes in the membrane, without damaging or killing the cell.

While the cell membrane is disrupted, target molecules pass enter the cell through the holes in the membrane. As the cell returns to its normal shape, the holes in the membrane close. Virtually any type of molecule can be delivered into any type of cell.[3]

Applications

Applications have focused on immune cells, delivering:

Commercialization

The process was originally developed by Armon Sharei, in the lab of Langer and Jensen at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[6] In 2014 Sharei founded SQZ Biotech[7] to demonstrate the technology. That year, SQZ Biotech won the $100,000 grand prize in the annual startup competition sponsored by Boston-based accelerator MassChallenge.[8]

Boeing and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space CASIS awarded the company the CASIS-Boeing Prize for Technology in Space—worth more than $200,000—to support the use of CellSqueeze on the International Space Station (ISS). This was the largest total prize awarded to a single company in the accelerator’s history. Named one of Ten World Changing Ideas by Scientific American, the CellSqueeze platform enables scientists to manipulate cells with unprecedented simplicity ushering in new discoveries.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ How It Works. SQZ Biotech. Retrieved on 2014-05-18.
  2. ↑ "Narrow Straits - The Scientist Magazine®".
  3. ↑ Researchers put squeeze on cells to deliver. Rdmag.com (2013-07-22). Retrieved on 2014-05-18.
  4. ↑ Armon Sharei; Radiana Trifonova; Siddharth Jhunjhunwala; George C. Hartoularos; Alexandra T. Eyerman; Abigail Lytton-Jean; Mathieu Angin; Siddhartha Sharma; Roberta Poceviciute; Shirley Mao; Megan Heimann; Sophia Liu; Tanya Talkar; Omar F. Khan; Marylyn Addo; Ulrich H. von Andrian; Daniel G. Anderson; Robert Langer; Judy Lieberman; Klavs F. Jensen (2015). "A vector-free microfluidic platform for intracellular delivery". PLoS ONE. 10: e0118803. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118803. PMC 4395260Freely accessible. PMID 25875117.
  5. ↑ Gregory Lee Szeto; Debra Van Egeren; Hermoon Worku; Armon Sharei; Brian Alejandro; Clara Park; Kirubel Frew; Mavis Brefo; Shirley Mao; Megan Heimann; Robert Langer; Klavs Jensen; Darrell J Irvine (2015). "Microfluidic squeezing for intracellular antigen loading in polyclonal B-cells as cellular vaccines". Sci. Rep. 5: 10276. doi:10.1038/srep10276. PMID 25999171.
  6. ↑ Armon Sharei; Janet Zoldan; Andrea Adamo; Woo Young Sim; Nahyun Cho; Emily Jackson; Shirley Mao; Sabine Schneider; Min-Joon Han; Abigail Lytton-Jean; Pamela A. Basto; Siddharth Jhunjhunwala; Jungmin Lee; Daniel A. Heller; Jeon Woong Kang; George C. Hartoularos; Kwang-Soo Kim; Daniel G. Anderson; Robert Langer; Klavs F. Jensen (2013). "A vector-free microfluidic platform for intracellular delivery". PNAS. 110: 2082–7. doi:10.1073/pnas.1218705110. PMC 3568376Freely accessible. PMID 23341631.
  7. ↑ "Home". SQZ Biotech. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  9. ↑ Bradley, Ryan (December 1, 2014). "How to Hijack A Cell".
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.