Faster, gentler delivery of gene-editing proteins into T cells
Intracellular delivery of DNA-editing proteins by viscoelastic cell stretching
A lab method is being developed to put gene-editing proteins into T cells more quickly and gently to help make CAR‑T and other immune cell therapies for people with cancer and related diseases.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Carnegie-Mellon University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11158993 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers are building a microfluidic, contactless system that uses viscoelastic fluid forces to briefly stretch cell membranes so gene-editing proteins like CRISPR‑Cas9 can enter cells. The approach avoids cells touching hard surfaces and aims to be much faster than current methods, exceeding 100 million cells per minute in a single channel. The project focuses on ex vivo editing of human T cells to improve manufacturing of CAR‑T and other engineered immune cells while reducing cell damage. If it works, the technique could be scaled to produce large numbers of edited cells more reliably for clinical use.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with cancers or other conditions who need or may become eligible for CAR‑T or engineered T‑cell therapies are the types of patients who might benefit from this work in the future.
Not a fit: Patients with conditions unrelated to immune cell therapies or those not eligible for cell‑based treatments are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this lab-focused project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could make CAR‑T and other engineered immune cell therapies faster, cheaper, and safer to produce for patients.
How similar studies have performed: Techniques such as electroporation and microfluidic squeezing have achieved T‑cell editing but often harm cells or are slow, so this viscoelastic, contactless method is novel and less tested.
Where this research is happening
Pittsburgh, United States
- Carnegie-Mellon University — Pittsburgh, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sevenler, Derin — Carnegie-Mellon University
- Study coordinator: Sevenler, Derin
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.