Particle Coating In Two-Phase Microfluidic Co-Flows

细胞移植疗法在治疗I型糖尿病等疾病方面显示出巨大的前景。然而，到目前为止，所有成功的临床治疗的患者都被要求使用免疫抑制药物。这些药物往往对肾脏等器官有害。然而，如果没有免疫抑制，移植的细胞可能会很快被患者的免疫系统摧毁。 我们的实验室正在寻求一种新的粒子包衣技术，这种技术将使细胞移植治疗无需免疫抑制。我们正在开发用生物兼容的聚合物膜覆盖单个颗粒的能力，例如用于治疗I型糖尿病的细胞，这种膜可以保护细胞免受免疫系统的攻击，并促进营养物质的跨膜运输。 我们使用微流体平台--粘度和表面张力主导流体流动物理特性的微通道系统--来开发我们的技术，并利用我们在流体力学和电磁学方面的专业知识来控制涂层过程。我们的方法既包括对单电池涂层的实验观察，也包括涂层流动的数学建模。 最重要的是，我们预计我们的涂层技术将极大地提高移植细胞的生存能力，这将对加拿大医疗保健和生物技术行业产生积极影响。我们还期待全球流体力学团体对我们的涂层流动研究产生浓厚兴趣。最后，通过参与这项研究计划，我们的高素质人才(HQP)将在工程、医学和数学等领域发展跨学科技能。这些HQP将推广到加拿大工业，并应用我们的微型涂层技术来解决各种问题。

Cell transplantation therapies have shown great promise in treating diseases such as type I diabetes. However, the patients in all of the successful clinical treatments so far have been required to use immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs are often harmful to organs such as kidneys. Yet, without immunosuppression, the transplanted cells may be quickly destroyed by the patient's immune system. Our laboratory is pursuing a new particle coating technology that will enable cell transplantation treatments without immunosuppression. We are developing the capability to coat individual particles, such as the cells being used in the treatment of type I diabetes, with a bio-compatible polymer membrane that protects the cells from the immune system and facilitates the transport of nutrients across the membrane. We use a microfluidics platform--a system of microchannels where viscosity and surface tension dominate the physics of fluid flow--to develop our technology, and leverage our expertise in fluid mechanics and electromagnetism to control the coating process. Our approach includes both experimental observation of the coated single cells and mathematical modeling of the coating flow. Most of all, we expect that our coating technology will greatly improve the viability of transplanted cells, which can positively impact the Canadian health care and biotechnology industries. We also anticipate significant interest from the global fluid mechanics community in our coating flow studies. Finally, through participation in this research program, our highly qualified personnel (HQP) will develop interdisciplinary skills in fields as diverse as engineering, medicine, and mathematics. These HQP will populate Canadian industry and apply our microscale coating technique to solve a variety of problems.