AFFINITY MEMBRANE DEVICE FOR SELECTIVE CELL SEPARATIONS

THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF A SUPERIOR, HIGHLY CONTROLLABLE AND PRODUCTIVE AFFINITY MEMBRANE DEVICE AND PROCESS FOR THE HIGH-RESOLUTION SEPARATION OF PARTICULAR CELL SUBSETS FROM COMPLEX BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS. CELL SEPARATION IS ACCOMPLISHED BY EXPOLITING HIGHLY SPECIFIC INTERACTIONS THAT TAKE PLACE BETWEEN CELL SURFACE RECEPTORS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING IMMUNOAFFINITY LIGANDS BOUND TO THE POROUS SURFACES OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE HOLLOW-FIBER MEMBRANES. OUR OBJECTIVES ARE SEVERAL: (I) TO IMPROVE THE PRODUCTIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF EXISTING THERAPEUTIC CELL SEPARATIONS, E.G., IN DEPLETION OF MATURE T-LYMPHOCYTES FROM STEM CELLS FOR THE PREVENTION OF GRAFT-VS.-HOST DISEASE IN BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION; (II) TO PROVIDE ENABLING CELL-SEPARATION TECHNOLOGY DESIGNED TO FUNCTION IN THE CLINIC AS WELL AS THELABORATORY, THEREBY PROMISING TO EXTEND THE SCOPE OF THERAPEUTIC CELL SEPARATIONS BEYOND THE CURRENT APPLICATIONS; AND (III) TO PROVIDE A CONVENIENT RESEARCH LABORATORY TOOL FOR THE SELECTIVE SEPARATION OF PARTICULAR CELL SUBSETS.