Abstract

Lab on a Particle Technology to Unlock Antibody and Cell Therapy Discovery

Dino Di Carlo, Armond and Elena Hairapetian Chair in Engineering and Medicine, Professor and Vice Chair of Bioengineering, University of California Los Angeles

We have developed 3D-shaped hydrogel microparticle platforms to capture cells, as well as isolate and label their secretions. These “lab on a particle” systems enable sorting cells based on secreted products for the discovery of antibodies, the development of cell lines producing recombinant products, and the selection of functional cells for cell therapies. Each cell and its secreted products can be analyzed using widely available flow cytometers operating at up to a 1000 cells per second. I will discuss our latest results in sorting antigen-specific T cells and mesenchymal stem cells based on secreted cytokines, extracellular vesicles, and growth factors. Cells sorted based on these properties are intact, can regrow, and maintain the selected function over multiple population doublings, enabling cell therapy discovery and manufacturing workflows.