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Synthetic AAV virus capsids for advanced gene therapy
The protein shell (capsid) of Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are presently the most promising delivery vehicles for various in vivo gene therapies. AAVs are non-pathogenic and, through past engineering efforts, have become safe due to their inability to integrate into and damage the genome of target cells. Rather, the delivered DNA containing a therapeutic gene of... -
Toehold Probes
The accurate detection of specific DNA or RNA sequences is important for many research and diagnostic applications, and unspecific detection of similar sequences that can differ by only a single nucleotide can give false positive results. In addition, researchers and clinicians would like to accurately test for presence or absence of multiple single base changes... -
Toehold switches as versatile tools for synthetic biology applications
The burgeoning field of synthetic biology is designing artificial gene circuits that recognize molecules in their environment and respond by regulating genes with desired activities. In the future, such capabilities could allow the engineering of cells as diagnostic or therapeutic devices, factories for the production of clinically or industrially coveted molecules, and as specialized devices... -
RAPID testing for food contaminants
Contamination of food by microorganisms such as certain bacteria, viruses and fungi is a constant concern, with even miniscule amounts of certain species posing a risk for foods to become unsafe and spoiled during storage. Current safety and quality tests are often not sensitive enough to detect rare species, and because they first require the... -
Tough Gel Adhesives
A Band-Aid® adhesive bandage is an effective treatment for stopping external bleeding from skin wounds, but an equally viable option for internal bleeding does not yet exist. Surgical glues are often used inside the body instead of traditional wound closure techniques like stitches, staples, and clips because they reduce the patient’s time in the hospital... -
Peptide-based drug delivery to target the brain
The blood-brain-barrier (BBB) is a protective membrane that shields the brain from pathogens, toxins and large water-soluble molecules. Blood vessels throughout the body are lined by endothelial cells that allow some materials to flow from the blood stream into the surrounding tissues. In the brain however, the endothelial cells are more tightly coupled to prevent... -
Engineering organoids to recapitulate brain tissue
The ability to derive and manipulate pluripotent stem cells has opened up new avenues for modeling biological systems in both healthy and diseased conditions. In order to more fully recapitulate the tissue microenvironment with its cell-cell, cell-extracellular matrix, and cell-niche interactions, it is essential to transition stem-cell culturing from monolayers to 3D structures. Self-organization of... -
Gene Drives
Since the 1940s, researchers have thought of using gene drives to eradicate populations of pests and disease vectors, and to reduce or eliminate invasive species that wreak havoc on natural ecosystems. The idea of a gene drive stems from nature itself, where in sexually reproducing organisms a certain version of a gene is preferentially passed... -
Pathogen Capture Technology for Infectious Disease Therapeutics and Diagnostics
Microbial infection is the cause of life-threatening cases of sepsis, meningitis and multiple other diseases that are major causes of death world-wide. Equally prevalent are pathogenic contaminants in our environment, food, and manufacturing processes. In each case, the presence of dangerous microbes must be confirmed, and when they are found, they need to be removed,... -
Human Organs-on-Chips
Clinical studies take years to complete and testing a single compound can cost more than $2 billion. Meanwhile, innumerable animal lives are lost, and the process often fails to predict human responses because traditional animal models often do not accurately mimic human pathophysiology. For these reasons, there is a broad need for alternative ways to... -
Microfluidic encapsulation for subcutaneous delivery of viscous drugs
Because of their large molecular sizes and properties, biologic drugs, be it in the form of monoclonal antibodies that target disease-associated molecules or active proteins and enzymes that may correct deficiencies in the human body, have proven difficult to deploy in many cases. Their therapeutic effects on target cells and tissues often require high and... -
JetValve for heart regeneration
The human heart beats approximately 35 million times every year, pumping blood into the circulation via four different heart valves. In more than four million people each year, heart valves fail for different reasons, including birth defects, age-related deteriorations and infections. At present, clinicians use either artificial prostheses or fixed animal and cadaver-sourced tissue to... -
T cell traps
T cells, a subtype of white blood cells, play key roles in cell-mediated immunity, be it to fight infections and cancer or, when corrupted, to react against the body’s own cells in more than 80 autoimmune diseases, including type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and others. However, isolating disease-related T cells from the body... -
A broad strategy to reduce the toxicity of protein drugs
Therapeutic variants of the natural hormone erythropoietin (EPO) which is produced in the kidney to boost the production of red blood cells are commonly used to treat anemias stemming from kidney disease, chemotherapy and other complications. However, many drugs that are based on therapeutic proteins, including EPO, often cause unwanted side effects because they not... -
Manufacturing biomolecules ‘on the go’
Wyss Institute researchers have developed a biomolecular manufacturing method that can quickly and easily produce a wide range of vaccines, antimicrobial peptides and antibody conjugates while doing so anywhere, even in places without access to electrical power or refrigeration. The breakthrough could provide a life-saving workaround for making modern interventions available in remote areas. Today... -
DNA Nanostructures for Drug Delivery
Researchers at the Wyss Institute have developed two methods for building arbitrarily shaped nanostructures using DNA, with a focus on translating the technology towards nanofabrication and drug delivery applications. One proprietary nanofabrication technique, called “DNA-brick self-assembly,” uses short, synthetic strands of DNA that work like interlocking Lego® bricks. It capitalizes on the ability to program... -
Fluorescent In Situ Sequencing (FISSEQ)
Working copies of active genes — called messenger RNAs or mRNAs —translate the genetic information present in DNA into proteins within the cells’ multiple compartments. They are often positioned strategically within cells in ways that contribute critically to how cells and tissues grow, develop and function, and their mislocation can lead to disease development. To... -
Tethered Liquid Perfluorocarbon (TLP), a non-stick coating for medical devices
Every device implanted in the body or in contact with flowing blood faces two critical challenges that can threaten the life of the patient it is meant to help: blood clotting and bacterial infection. To confront this challenge, Wyss Institute researchers created a super-repellent, Thin Layer Perfluorocarbon (TLP) coating specifically designed to prevent clot formation... -
Project Abbie
Over 15 million Americans are at risk of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction triggered by exposure to certain foods, materials, medications, and insect bites. Every three minutes, a food reaction sends someone to the emergency room. In most individuals, anaphylactic shock can be prevented by administering the counteracting drug epinephrine, as soon as an attack... -
Putting Biofilms to Work
A team at the Wyss Institute sees biofilms as a robust new platform for designer nanomaterials that could treat inflammatory bowel diseases, clean up polluted rivers, manufacture pharmaceutical products, fabricate new textiles, and more. A novel protein engineering system called BIND, which stands for Biofilm-Integrated Nanofiber Display, could be the essential ingredient in tomorrow’s probiotic... -
Shrilk Biodegradable Plastic
Wyss Institute researchers have developed a fully degradable bioplastic by isolating a material called chitosan found in shrimp shells and forming a laminate with silk fibroin protein that mimics the microarchitecture of natural insect cuticle. The new material, called “Shrilk”, can be used to manufacture objects without the environmental threat posed by conventional synthetic plastics,... -
Implantable cancer vaccine
The Wyss Institute’s implantable, biodegradable cancer vaccine leverages immunotherapeutic methods and could one day help overcome melanoma, other cancers, infectious diseases, auto-immune diseases, as well as vaccinate against specific peptides, proteins, or antigens. The implant is a biodegradable polymer scaffold containing growth factors and components of each patient’s tumors. The technology was initially designed to... -
Improving Balance and Gait Control
Balance in humans relies on complex feedback from the senses that govern the body’s mechanical stability. Wyss Institute and Boston University researchers have discovered that random vibrations, too gentle to be felt, can improve the sensory feedback system and may restore stability through a mechanism known as “stochastic resonance”. By incorporating vibrating elements in insoles... -
Preventing Infant Apnea
Clinicians and engineers at the Wyss Institute and the University of Massachusetts Medical School have developed a unique and proprietary system that reduces the onset of neonatal apnea in low birth-weight infants in a clinical trial at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The system makes use of the concept of Stochastic Resonance to reset the... -
Mechanically-Activated Drug Targeting Nanotechnology
The Wyss team has developed a novel drug targeting nanotechnology that is activated locally by mechanical forces, either endogenous high shear stresses in blood created by vascular occlusion or mechanical energy applied locally using low-energy ultrasound radiation. Today, vascular blockage is the leading cause of death and disability in United States and Europe. Current therapies... -
SLIPS (Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces)
The need for an inexpensive, super-repellent surface cuts across a vast swath of societal sectors—from refrigeration and architecture, to medical devices and consumer products. Most state-of-the-art liquid repellent surfaces designed in the last decade are modeled after lotus leaves, which are extremely hydrophobic due to their rough, waxy surface and the physics of their natural... -
Inexpensive Super-Resolution Microscopy
Wyss Institute scientists have developed a highly versatile and inexpensive microscopic imaging platform designed to visualize objects with molecular-scale resolution and unprecedented complexity. The DNA-powered imaging technology can reveal the inner workings of cells at the single molecule level, using conventional microscopes found in most laboratories. Key to the Wyss Institute’s DNA-driven imaging super resolution... -
Injectable Hydrogels for Better Drug Delivery
Wyss researchers have developed a new approach to delivering drugs and therapeutic cells using biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogels made of alginate, a naturally occurring polysaccharide from brown algae. Injectable hydrogels could greatly improve clinical ability to provide extended drug release and controlled delivery throughout the body or at targeted local sites. The method holds promising... -
Paper-based synthetic gene networks as a new diagnostic approach
With the imminent threat of new pandemics and frequent disease outbreaks exemplified by the recent Ebola and Zika epidemics, there is a growing need for low-cost, easily deployable and simple-to-use diagnostic tools. The Wyss Institute has developed paper-based synthetic gene networks as a next generation diagnostic technology for use in global healthcare crises and patient... -
Microfluidic Hemostasis Monitor
The body’s ability to stop bleeding, also known as hemostasis, is critical for survival. For patients with blood clotting disorders, medical conditions requiring the use of anticoagulation or antiplatelet drugs, or who require treatment with extracorporeal devices that circulate their blood outside of the body, it is essential that care providers can rapidly monitor their... -
Pop-Up MEMS
Recent decades have seen rapid development in the manufacture of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) at the micrometer scale, mostly based on silicon wafer processing techniques, with characteristic length scales of millimeters to nanometers. However, standard MEMS techniques are often inappropriate for producing machines with complex 3D topologies and varied constituent materials at the mesoscale, at sizes... -
4D Printing of Shapeshifting Devices
Organisms, such as flowers and plants, have tissue compositions and microstructures creating dynamic morphologies that can shapeshift in response to changes in their environments. Researchers at the Wyss Institute have mimicked a variety of such dynamic shape changes like those performed by tendrils, leaves, and flowers in response to changes in humidity or temperature with... -
3D Bioprinting of Living Tissues
Progress in drug testing and regenerative medicine could greatly benefit from laboratory-engineered human tissues built of a variety of cell types with precise 3D architecture. But production of greater than millimeter sized human tissues has been limited by a lack of methods for building tissues with embedded life-sustaining vascular networks. In this video, the Wyss... -
Soft Exosuits
Soft exosuits offer a new way to assist the elderly in maintaining or restoring their gait, in rehabilitating children and adults with movement disorders due to Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease, or to ease the physical burden of soldiers, firefighters, paramedics, farmers, factory workers and others whose jobs require them to carry extremely heavy... -
Soft Robotic Glove
The majority of patients with partial or total loss of hand motor abilities, including those suffering from debilitating disorders like muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and incomplete spinal cord injury, experience greatly reduced quality of life due to their inability to perform many daily activities. Tasks often taken for granted by the able-bodied become... -
“Flexi-mitts” for tracking neurodevelopment in very low birth weight premature infants
Advances in medical care have improved the survival of very low birth weight premature infants but at the same time have also led to an increased number of surviving infants with reduced cerebral growth and long-term neurodevelopmental motor, cognitive, and social morbidities. These complications are met by a lack of early assessment tools for diagnosing...