DIAGNOLOGIX, LLC — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NHLBI

Description

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Substitution of abnormal stem cells with healthy cells has been accomplished clinically through hematopoietic stem cell HSC transplantation for more than years Umbilical cord blood UCB is an alternative to bone marrow or peripheral blood HSC source for patients with hematologic diseases who need allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation The first UCB transplantation was performed in for a child with Fanconi anemia The field of UCB banking and transplantation has grown exponentially ever since However the number of banked UCB in both public and private banks is much lower than available umbilical cords High costs and complex procedures are two major hurdles to be overcome Recently we have developed an innovative microbubble based technology for rare cell isolation in blood that can help resolve these issues We use perfluorocarbon filled microbubbles MBs which have been used as a safe ultrasound contrast agent Therefore this material would be suitable for isolating cells for therapeutic applications Here we propose to develop a close system that can be intuitively operated without the need of specialized equipment By target isolation of HSC this technology can reduce volume of a unit of cord blood andgt ml to be stored in a designed container with much small volume andlt ml The simplicity of the procedure and reduction of the cost may revolutionize the UCB banking industry In Phase we will develop standardized methods for efficient HSC isolation using our proposed approach In Phase we will apply this established protocol to develop commercial products for clinical and research uses PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE The number of banked UCB in both public and private banks is much lower than available umbilical cords because of high costs and complex processing procedures We have developed an innovative microbubble based technology for rare cell isolation in blood that can help resolve these issues