The potential for high quality, wide-scale production of stem cells in Australia at a lower cost is offered by a 3D printed system for harvesting stem cells.
Stem cells can be used to treat many diseases and injuries, such as arthritis and diabetes, due to their ability to replace damaged cells. Stem cell harvesting is time consuming and labor intensive.
In collaboration with Regeneus, Professor Warkiani led the translation of the research into stem cell therapies.
Professor Warkiani said that their cutting-edge technology, which uses 3D printing and microfluidics to integrate a number of production steps into one device, can help make stem cell therapies more widely available to patients at a lower cost.
While this world-first system is currently at the prototype stage, we are working closely with thebiotech companies to bring the technology to market. It is necessary for current good manufacturing practices because it is a closed system.
Micro fluidics can be used to manipulate cells and particles. 3D printing has allowed for rapid prototyping and the creation of systems.
The new system was developed to process mesenchymal stem cells, a type of adult stem cell that can divide and differentiate into multiple tissues.
Mesenchymal stem cells are obtained from a variety of sources. They are combined with microcarriers to allow the cells to grow.
The new system uses four micromixers, one spiral microfluidic separator, and one microfluidic concentrator to separate the mesenchymal stem cells from the microcarriers and concentrate them for downstream processing.
A study titled "A modular 3D printed microfluidic system: a potential solution for continuous cell harvesting in largescale bioprocessing" was recently published.
The same technology and process can be used to address other bioprocessing industrial challenges, such as stem cells and CAR-T cells, helping to reduce costs and increase the quality of products.
More information: Lin Ding et al, A modular 3D printed microfluidic system: a potential solution for continuous cell harvesting in large-scale bioprocessing, Bioresources and Bioprocessing (2022). DOI: 10.1186/s40643-022-00550-2
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