(435a) Bioactive Surfaces in Microfluidic Devices

Microfluidic channels with immobilized proteins and
antibodies have been utilized for a wide range of applications, from clinical
diagnostics to tissue engineering.  This presentation will describe our
work in the isolation of stem and progenitor cells for diagnostics and
therapeutics from complex samples such as blood and digested tissue.  A
key element in our approach is the design of alginate hydrogel-based surface
coatings that can be applied onto the surfaces of microfluidic channels.
 These hydrogels are functionalized with antibodies, enabling specific
capture of target cells, but more importantly they also have the ability to
release captured cells without loss of viability or function.  Specific
examples to be covered in the presentation will include isolation of
endothelial progenitor cells for cardiovascular diagnostics and vascular tissue
engineering and isolation of intestinal stem cells for intestinal organoid unit
regeneration.