I-Corps: Translation Potential of a High-throughput Cell Screening Technology for Bioproducts

The broader impact of this I-Corps project is the development of a cell selection tool that allows scientists to engineer cells that produce higher yields of various bioproducts including pharmaceutical proteins, industrial enzymes, biofuels, and cultured meats. Higher yields of bioproducts for each batch manufactured results in lower costs, which is currently the number one problem throughout the biotechnology industry.

For example, the cost of a cultured meat burger is $100, orders of magnitude higher than the traditional alternatives. The cost of a gene therapy cure is $2.2 million, which is too high for the average person to afford. By bringing this new technology to market to engineer higher yielding cells, costs will be dramatically reduced for these bioproducts, allowing growth of the biotechnology industry.

This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of the technology. The solution is based on the development of a high-throughput cell screening technology designed to isolate cells based on their ability to produce higher yields of a desired bioproduct.

Using this technology, cells are placed into hollow microparticles that are replacements for test tubes to measure the yields that cells produce. The outer shell is composed of a synthetic, porous hydrogel called poly-ethylene-glycol (PEG) that allows for continuous solution exchange between the inner compartment and the external environment. This allows for nutrients to be rapidly replenished, enabling long-term growth and production assays that were not possible with previous microfluidic screening technologies.

The microparticles can be sorted via fluorescent activated cell sorters (FACS) at a rate of 75,000 cells/colonies per hour, orders of magnitude higher than the alternatives. Cells can be released post-sort by allowing the cells to grow out of the particles or by adding chemical reagents to the particles to break down the outer shell.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.