Case Western Reserve University scientists created a tool that could increase accessibility of CAR T cell immunotherapy and make it more affordable, according to a release.
The technology is “called CAPGLO (for capture and glow)” and “uses a magnetic field to “capture” T cells and visualize them with fluorescent tags that make them “glow.’”
The researchers say CAPGLO should be cheap to manufacture, resulting in more accessible treatment. The device will require less blood than traditional therapy.
The scientists “make the T cells magnetic” for the new process. CAPGLO is then used with a magnetic field to “separate the magnetized T cells from the red blood cells and plasma, collecting the T cells in a small tube.” Then, “the investigators plan to harmlessly snip off the beads, leaving a population of T cells ready for chimeric transduction in Wald’s lab.” The researchers report this should take less than an hour.
