I-Corps: Dry Preservation of Blood for Long-Term Storage at Ambient Temperatures

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发在室温下储存的干燥血液。输血是美国医院最常见的医疗程序之一，全球血液制品市场超过300亿美元。然而，红细胞在冷藏时只能保存6周。使用甘油可以将红细胞冷冻更长时间，但解冻和处理步骤复杂且耗时。由于这些限制，在恶劣的环境中血液供应有限或根本不存在。在环境温度下干燥保存红细胞可以在目前血液储存不可行的恶劣环境中快速输血，这可能会挽救这些偏远地区的生命。此外，干燥的血液预计也会对兽医输血的血液供应产生影响。此外，这项技术还可以干燥保存许多其他类型的细胞，用于研究和医学应用。预计这项技术将对人类医疗保健产生重大影响，并将彻底改变目前无法长期储存血液的民用和军事应用。这个I-Corps项目将为干血的潜在商业化机会提供新的见解。本文提出了一种利用超声和微流体技术将海藻糖加载到红细胞中以保护红细胞在干燥状态下的细胞膜的新方法。实验研究结果发现，与其他方法相比，该方法可显著提高活红细胞的回收率。这个I-Corps项目的活动将有助于确定或排除适合干血的潜在市场领域，包括军事用途、兽医用途、血库、医院/医疗中心以及用于研究应用的细胞保存。客户发现访谈将为输血和其他细胞保存应用的提供者提供未满足需求和痛点的新见解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of dried blood for storage at ambient temperatures. Blood transfusions are one of the most common medical procedures in U.S. hospitals and the global market for blood products is over $30 billion. However, red blood cells can only be stored up to six weeks when refrigerated. Red blood cells can be frozen for longer durations using glycerol but the thawing and processing steps are complex and time-consuming. Due to these limitations the blood supply is limited or non-existent in austere environments. Dry preservation of red blood cells at ambient temperatures would enable rapid blood transfusions in austere environments where blood storage is not currently feasible, which would likely save lives in these remote locations. In addition, dried blood is expected to also have an impact on the blood supply for veterinary transfusions. Furthermore, this technology may enable dry preservation of many other cell types for research and medical applications. It is expected that this technology will have a significant impact on human healthcare and will revolutionize civilian and military applications where long-term storage of blood is currently impossible.This I-Corps project will provide new insights into potential commercialization opportunities for dried blood. A new method has been developed which utilizes ultrasound and microfluidics technology to load red blood cells with trehalose in order to protect the cell membranes when preserved in a dried state. Results from experimental studies have found that this method yields a significant increase in recovery of viable red blood cells compared to other approaches. The activities of this I-Corps project will aid in identifying or excluding potential areas of market fit for dried blood, including military use, veterinary use, blood banking, hospitals/medical centers, and cell preservation for research applications. Customer discovery interviews will provide new insights into the unmet needs and pain points for providers of blood transfusions and other cell preservation applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.