Ethanol-Dispersed Polymer Nanofibers as a Highly Selective Cell Isolation and Release Platform for CD4+ T Lymphocytes

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 22; no. 21; pp. 4448 - 4455
• Main Authors: Jun, Seung-Hyun, Kim, Kwanghee, An, Hyo Jin, Kim, Byoung Chan, Sonn, Chung Hee, Kim, Miju, Doh, Junsang, Yee, Cassian, Lee, Kyung-Mi, Kim, Jungbae
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 07.11.2012; WILEY‐VCH Verlag
• Subjects: CD4+ T lymphocyte; cell separation; cell transplantation; electrospun polymer nanofibers; ethanol dispersion
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201200657

A novel cell isolation and release platform using electrospun polystyrene‐poly(styrene‐co‐maleic anhydride) (PS‐PSMA) nanofibers is presented. Ethanol treatment of PS‐PSMA nanofibers, employed for the purpose of sterilization, significantly increases their inter‐fiber space for both antibody conjugation and subsequent cell separation. For the selective isolation of CD4+ T cells from heterogeneous mixtures of mouse lymph nodes, capture efficiencies of up to 100% are achieved while maintaining cellular integrity and viability. Once captured, CD4+ T lymphocytes can also be released from the NF scaffolds, further demonstrating its potential functionality as an immune cell‐supporting and releasing matrix. This is the first demonstration of lymphocyte‐culture scaffolds enabling selective isolation, accommodation, and sustained release of CD4+ T cells for the purpose of cell therapies. Electrospun and alcohol‐dispersed PS‐PSMA nanofibers, allowing for facile conjugation of antibodies, could be used as an innovative cell isolation/enrichment and support/release platform. This work opens up a new potential for an innovative immune cell therapy, in which specific immune cells are isolated by antibody‐conjugated nanofibers and directly delivered to the target disease sites under the controlled and sustained release of immune cells via in vivo activation.