Development of an intrapulmonary spray method for cell therapy
Cell therapy is a research area in the field of regenerative medicine, which becomes more and more important. The function of injured organs or tissues can be restored, supported or replaced by application of healthy cells. Currently, the cells are mainly intravenously injected and reach the diseased organ via blood flow. However, the cells accumulate also in other – healthy – organs which reduces the efficiency.
In this project, a spray procedure for cell therapy of lung diseases (e.g. ARDS treatment) will be developed. The procedure will allow to directly applying stem cells in the lung. Preliminary results of the applicants have proven the principle of endoscopic cell application. For the cells to be effective, they need to withstand the spray application without extensive changes and simultaneously show a high penetration depth in the lung. Nozzle geometry and configuration are highly important as they have an impact on cell damage as well as droplet size and velocity. A custom-made lung model is developed and used to test new nozzle designs. We aim at finding the best trade-off of penetration depth in the lung and cell survival. The new nozzle will be developed such that it can directly be used with a commercially available bronchoscope. By that, cells can be applied under visual control. Additionally, the iteratively developed nozzle will be tested by simulating ARDS-conditions in the lung model.