Encapsulated materials and methods for encapsulating materials

• US 8,663,511 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2012
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Inventors: Kim, Kyekyoon, Choi, Hyungsoo
• Primary Examiner(s): Seidleck, James J
• Assistant Examiner(s): POURBOHLOUL, SARIRA CAMILLA
• Application Number:
  US13/625,371
• Publication Number:
  US 20130049240A1
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 347/53, 424/400, 424/408, 424/450, 424/489, 424/497, 428402-40224, 428/403, 428/404, 428/407, 427/389.9, 427/212, 4272133-21336, 427/483, 427/256, 264/5, 264/534, 264/41, 264 4- 47
• US Class Current: 264/4
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 35/39 Pancreas; Islets of Langerhans Langerhans cells of epidermis A61K35/36
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 5/00 Drugs for disorders of the endocrine system

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a method for applying a force to at least one of an inner stream, an outer stream or both of a combined stream to produce a plurality of capsules, receiving image data, processing the image data, detecting undesirable capsules from the processed image data, applying a bias charge only to the detected undesirable capsules, and segregating the biased undesirable capsules from the unbiased desirable capsules. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

applying a force to a combined stream to produce a plurality of capsules,

wherein the combined stream comprises an inner stream comprising a core solution intermixed with a plurality of materials, and an outer stream comprising a shell solution,

wherein at least a portion of the plurality of capsules are desirable capsules, each comprising a core encapsulated by a portion of the shell solution,

wherein the core comprises at least one of the plurality of materials encapsulated by a portion of the core solution, and

wherein the at least one material in the core does not protrude an outer surface of the portion of the shell solution;

detecting undesirable capsules with a sensing device and using image recognition;

applying a bias charge only to the detected undesirable capsules via a charging device responsive to detecting the undesirable capsules; and

segregating the biased undesirable capsules from the unbiased desirable capsules with a selection device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the combined stream comprises a coaxial jet stream.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the force comprises at least one of an acoustic force, an electrostatic force, or a fluid force.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of materials correspond to mammalian cells.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the desirable capsules are non-antigenic.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a size and thickness of the plurality of capsules is controlled by at least one of first and second flow rates of first and second streams of the combined stream, a diameter of inner and out nozzles used to generate the combined stream, or an amplitude or a magnitude of the force applied to the combined stream.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the shell solution or the core solution comprises a biocompatible material.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the biocompatible material corresponds to an alginate having a non-antigenic property that substantially prevents an immune response in a mammal.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the shell solution surrounding the core comprises one of a polymeric solution or an alginate solution.