Dry Cell Delivery Composition with Gas-Permeable Surface Layer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Delivering living cells in a dry, non-frozen state is challenging due to their instability and the need for refrigerants like liquid nitrogen, which increases costs and handling difficulties.
Innovation Solution
A composition with a porous inert carrier substrate and a permeable surface layer that allows oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange, enabling the delivery of living cells in a dry mode without refrigerants, using materials like precipitated silica and organic phases with surfactants and fatty acids.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If living cells are delivered in a dry, non-frozen state, then shipping costs and handling difficulties are reduced, but cell viability and stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
An organic phase acts as an intermediary substance between the living cells and the dry environment. This organic phase (containing surfactants and fatty acids) mediates the interaction by providing a protective microenvironment that maintains cell viability while allowing the overall composition to be in a dry, stable state suitable for shipping without refrigeration.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite material system consisting of living cells embedded in a porous inert carrier substrate and coated with an organic phase. This composite structure combines the stability of dry powder with the life-sustaining properties of organic compounds, resolving the contradiction between dry-state stability and cell viability.
2Productivity
If a surface layer is added to the composition, then cell propagation and oxygen exchange are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The surface layer is designed with porous characteristics that allow oxygen and carbon dioxide to pass through while maintaining the structural integrity of the composition. The porosity enables gas exchange necessary for cell propagation without requiring complex mechanical systems, thus improving productivity while keeping the device relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The surface layer serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides a barrier that maintains the dry state, allows gas permeability for cell respiration, and potentially provides additional protection to the cells. This multi-functionality improves cell propagation without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition maintains living cell viability and propagation for extended periods, reducing shipping costs and storage requirements while eliminating the need for external refrigeration, offering increased shelf life and stability.
Implementation Method 1
an inert carrier substrate having a porous structure, and living cells loaded throughout the pores of the inert carrier substrate
Implementation Method 2
the surface layer can be permeable to oxygen and carbon dioxide such that the composition is operable to allow for increased propagation of the living cells
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention generally relates to compositions and methods of delivering living cells in a dry mode, wherein the compositions include a surface layer disposed on the outer surface of the composition that is permeable to carbon dioxide and oxygen. The compositions may be used to deliver living cells to a delivery point without the use of expensive refrigerants such as dry ice or liquid nitrogen.