Design of a Novel Oxygen Therapeutic Using Hydrogel Microcapsules Mimicking Red Blood Cells

Summary

This study sets out to build an artificial oxygen carrier that imitates a red blood cell on three counts at once: size of 5-10 µm, the characteristic biconcave shape, and the ability to carry haemoglobin. Pectin-based hydrogel microcapsules are produced by electrospraying, where the process parameters govern droplet size directly. Matching the geometry of a red blood cell matters because it determines how the carrier travels through the narrowest capillaries - the reason spherical particles of the same volume behave differently.

Authors & Affiliations

• Adam Cherwin

  BioMolecular Engineering Program, Physics and Chemistry Department, USA
• Sarah Namen

  BioMolecular Engineering Program, Physics and Chemistry Department, USA
• Jack Rapacz

  BioMolecular Engineering Program, Physics and Chemistry Department, USA
• Geoffrey Kusik

  BioMolecular Engineering Program, Physics and Chemistry Department, USA
• Alison Anderson

  BioMolecular Engineering Program, Physics and Chemistry Department, USA
• Yiyang Wang

  Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin, USA

Linari Electrospinning Systems

Topics

Materials