Technologies search results
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Tunable ECMs for more effective T cell therapies
Tunable hydrogels that enhance the efficacies of adoptively transferred immune cells during their manufacturing by mimicking target tissue biomechanics. -
Single-Cell Encapsulation for Improved Cell Therapies
The Problem Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are valued for their ability to secrete compounds that modulate the body’s immune system, making them an attractive solution for existing problems with cell therapies including host-vs-graft disease and organ transplant rejections. However, MSCs are rapidly cleared from the body and can come under fire from the immune system.... -
Tough Gel Adhesives for Wound Healing
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... -
Bone Marrow-Like Scaffolds for Accelerating Immune Reconstitution
An implantable bone marrow cryogel to accelerate the full reconstitution of the immune system, including T cell immunity, in patients that received chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. This could provide an off-the-shelf, material-based solution for patients with severe blood disorders whose immunity is recovering only slowly after treatment. -
Injectable Alginate Hydrogels for Medical Applications
One of the biggest challenges in medicine is getting a drug to the right part of the body at the right time. Even when the target site in the body is known, like a pain-causing injury or a cancerous tumor, most drugs are given as oral pills or intravenous infusions, which limits their effectiveness. In... -
Microfluidic Drug Encapsulation
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... -
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... -
Bioplastics
Humans have produced roughly 8,300 million metric tons of plastic since the 1950s, the vast majority of which has been thrown out as waste. Only about 9% of that plastic waste has been recycled and 12% has been incinerated, leaving 79% of it to accumulate on our land and oceans, harming the environment, the food... -
NanoRx: Mechanically-Activated Drug Targeting
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... -
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... -
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... -
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...