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A team of engineers at MIT have developed a technique to attach a tiny polymer patch to immune system cells. The cellular "backpack" could carry imaging agents that would bind to protein markers located in cancer cells and consequently help identify tumors. Magnetic nanoparticles as cargo in the backpacks would allow the researchers to control cellular movement with a magnetic field.

The research used immune B and T cells because of their ability to home in to various tissues in the body, including tumors. Because this backpack technology allows researchers to use cells to transport tiny cargo, medications and chemotherapy agents could be targeted for specific delivery.

Michael Rubner, Director, Center for Materials Science and Engineering, MIT is senior author of the paper on cellular backpacks. He believes that this is the first time anyone has used the technology of attaching a synthetic patch to a cell.

"The idea is that we use cells as vectors to carry materials to tumors, infection sites or other tissue sites," said Darrell Irvine, also an author of the paper. He is associate professor of materials science and engineering and biological engineering, MIT.

"The rest of the cell is untouched and able to interact with the environment," said Albert Swiston, lead author of the paper and a graduate student in materials science and engineering.

The three-layered polymer patch covers only a small portion of the cell surface and does not interfere with cell functions. The bottom layer holds the polymer to the surface of the cell, the middle layer contains the cargo, and the top layer acts as a hook that catches position as it flows within the body. The patch is then detached from the surface by simply lowering the temperature until the cells float away, with backpacks attached.

Other authors of the paper are Robert Cohen, St. Laurent Professor of Chemical Engineering; Soong Ho Um, a postdoctoral associate in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Biological Engineering, and Connie Cheng, a recent Harvard graduate.