PFI-TT: Non-enzymatic harvesting of cell cultures

创新技术转化伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛影响和商业潜力是解决再生医学和治疗细胞市场未满足的需求。如果成功，该技术将促进生物医学应用的细胞和药物制造。该计划将提供功能性软材料工程和创业技能领域的培训机会，以促进创业公司的商业化和发展。该项目旨在开发具有热响应涂层的强大且经济高效的细胞培养皿插入物，用于无酶分离高质量培养细胞，不受酶污染，也不破坏细胞及其环境。该产品将确保提高电池制造的效率和生产力，以及最终用户应用的高质量产品。该研究项目旨在通过以下方式解决知识差距和技术障碍：(1)开发一种成本效益高的可扩展方法，用于制造微结构热敏薄膜涂层；（ii）确定粘附和排斥模式的最佳尺寸，以实现不同细胞系的粘附、增殖和无酶收获；（iii）对培养和离体细胞进行研究，评估潜在的细胞损伤，以优化粘附水平。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 Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to address an unmet need in the regenerative medicine and therapeutic cell market. If successful, the proposed technology will boost cell and drug manufacturing for biomedical applications. The proposed program will provide training opportunities in the areas of engineering of functional soft materials and entrepreneurial skills for the commercialization and development of startups. The proposed project aims at developing robust and cost-efficient cell culture dish inserts with thermos-responsive coatings for enzyme-free detachment of high-quality cultured cells with no enzyme contaminations nor damage to the cells and their environment. The product will secure improved efficiency and productivity of cell manufacturing along with the high quality of the products for end-user applications. The research program is designed to address knowledge gaps and technical barriers through the (i) development of a cost-efficient scalable method for the fabrication of micro-structured thermo-responsive thin-film coatings; (ii) identification of the optimal dimensions of the adhesive and repulsive patterns to enable adhesion, proliferation and enzyme-free harvesting of different cell lines; and (iii) study of the cultured and detached cells to assess potential cell damage for optimization of the adhesion level.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.