A high-throughput platform for the non-invasive intracellular delivery of molecules for therapeutic applications

Existing methods for intracellular delivery of drugs, proteins or nucleic acids have either been system specific and inefficient, or based on methods like electroporation or chemical treatment that can greatly perturb cells. A recent method, now in co-development by a biotech startup and a pharma giant as a novel cell therapy platform, improved this process by squeezing cells through narrow constrictions, which slightly and temporarily deforms cells and porates the membrane. This allows for efficient uptake of many types of components while reducing the stress on cells. We developed, and Harvard patented, an alternative method that could more gently squeeze cells of varying sizes.