Technology Opportunity Webinar: Automated Benchtop Acoustophoresis Device
November 15, 2023 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Webinar
If you were unable to attend this webinar on November 15, 2023 and are interested in viewing the recording, please reach out to Joseph.Conrad@nih.gov
Attendees will learn about the research behind a proposed, automated benchtop device for labeling immunotherapy cells with 89Zr-oxine for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracking during treatment. The current method for labeling cells with 89Zr-oxine involves a tedious manual process requiring several rounds of centrifugation and pipetting from a highly skilled technician. However, even with a technician’s high skill level, the process suffers from low reproducibility and reliability of labeled cells.
Dr. Adler and his team are developing a new device that automates the labeling process using acoustophoresis, eliminating the need for multiple manual rounds of centrifugation and pipetting, thereby substantially increasing the reproducibility and reliability of the labeled cells. This results in better treatment analysis when PET scans are used to track progress in immunotherapy or other clinical or pre-clinical applications.
The Inventor
Stephen Adler, Ph.D. Clinical Research Directorate Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research Clinical Monitoring Research Program Support to Molecular Imaging Program, NCI Leidos BioMedical Research, Inc.
About the Technology
This new device uses acoustophoresis to replace the cell washing steps of the labeling processes in which cells are transferred from one suspension buffer to a new one.
- This action occurs along a microchannel etched into a chip the size of a microscope slide.
- Fluids from the two buffers flow together along this channel side by side forming two adjacent non-mixing streams in this laminar flow environment.
- An acoustic standing wave is formed along the center of this microchannel using an ultrasound transducer.
- When the cells in one buffer stream encounter this standing wave, they are pushed into the adjacent buffer stream resulting in the cells being washed by a new buffer solution.
- The radiolabeling procedure is made up of many cell washing steps with different buffer solutions as well as cell concentrating steps required for the radiolabeling incubation step.
Leveraging the small-scale, chip-based function of acoustophoresis by chaining together a series of acoustophoresis chips, the radiolabeling process is automated with each chip performing a single step in the process which can be engineered into a single benchtop instrument.
Competitive Advantages
- Automates a very labor-intensive manual process
- Eliminates need for multiple centrifugation and pipetting cycles
- Improves reproducibility / reliability of labeled cells
- Radiolabel any cell type
Why Attend?
- Assess co-developing the technology
- Interact with the inventor, ask questions and provide feedback
- Learn how to partner with NCI and the NIH
Who should attend?
- Business development professionals
- Device development professionals
- Biotech/pharma/academia researchers
- Investors and entrepreneurs