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.

Description:
PRIOR APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/481,394 filed Jun. 9, 2009, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/060,256 filed Jun. 10, 2008, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to the field of materials and material preparation or processing. Embodiments of the disclosure relate to encapsulated materials and methods or processes for encapsulating materials such as cellular materials. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Cell therapy can depend upon the ability to provide cells to a recipient while restraining the recipient&#39;s immune response from rejecting the cells. One example of providing these cells has been to provide cells while attempting to prohibit the immune response to the cells themselves and limit the immune response to any associated materials. In the past, attempts have been made to provide encapsulated cells that would protect the cell from initiating the host&#39;s immune response. However, portions of the cell have often remained exposed, unencapsulated, and/or antigenic. The exposed portions can extend beyond the encapsulate wall, thereby initiating the immune response. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  depicts an illustrative embodiment of an encapsulating apparatus; 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  depicts an illustrative embodiment of the apparatus of  FIG. 1  configured to inspect and segregate capsules; 
           [0006]      FIGS. 3-7  depicts illustrative embodiments of capsules created by the apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0007]      FIG. 8  depicts an illustrative embodiment of the apparatus of  FIG. 1  in a laboratory setting; and 
           [0008]      FIG. 9  depicts an illustrative diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies disclosed herein. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0009]    One embodiment of the present disclosure entails an apparatus having an outer nozzle operable to discharge at an egress of the outer nozzle an outer stream at a first flow rate, the outer stream comprising a shell solution, and an inner nozzle placed within the outer nozzle, wherein the inner nozzle is operable to discharge at an egress of the inner nozzle an inner stream at a second flow rate, the inner stream comprising a core solution intermixed with a plurality of materials. The outer stream can substantially surrounds the inner stream, thereby forming a combined stream. A plurality of capsules can be formed responsive to a force applied to the combined stream. At least a portion of the plurality of capsules are desirable capsules, each having a core encapsulated by a portion of the shell solution. The core can have at least one of the plurality of materials encapsulated by a portion of the core solution. The at least one material in the core does not protrude an outer surface of the portion of the shell solution. 
         [0010]    One embodiment of the present disclosure entails applying a force to a combined stream to produce a plurality of capsules. The combined stream can have an inner stream with a core solution intermixed with a plurality of materials, and an outer stream of a shell solution. At least a portion of the plurality of capsules are desirable capsules, each comprising a core encapsulated by a portion of the shell solution. The core can have at least one of the plurality of materials encapsulated by a portion of the core solution, whereby the at least one material in the core does not protrude an outer surface of the portion of the shell solution. 
         [0011]    One embodiment of the present disclosure entails applying a plurality of capsules to a patience to reduce or eliminate a disease of the patient. The plurality of capsules can be produced by an apparatus that applies an acoustic force to a combined stream. The combined stream can have an inner stream including a core solution intermixed with a plurality of mammalian cells, and an outer stream including a non-antigenic solution. Each of the plurality of capsules can include a core encapsulated by a portion of the non-antigenic solution. The core can have at least one of the plurality of mammalian cells encapsulated by a portion of the core solution, whereby the at least mammalian cell in the core does not protrude an outer surface of the portion of the non-antigenic solution. 
         [0012]    One embodiment of the present disclosure entails producing a plurality of capsules from a dual stream excited by a force. At least a portion of the plurality of capsules are desirable, each having a core surrounded by an outer shell, whereby the core does not protrude an outer surface of the outer shell. In one embodiment the core can correspond to a mammalian cell. 
         [0013]    One embodiment of the present disclosure entails a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions to manage operations of the aforementioned apparatus to produce the plurality of capsules according to any combination of the foregoing embodiments. 
         [0014]    One embodiment of the present disclosure entails a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions to direct a device that applies the plurality of capsules on a portion of a mammal as medicinal treatment. The capsules applied to the mammal can have any combination of the aforementioned embodiments. 
         [0015]    The apparatus and methods provided herein will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1-9 . Referring first to  FIG. 1 , an apparatus  10  is provided that includes a coaxial dual-nozzle apparatus  12  orientated in relation to a receiving reservoir  14 . Coaxial dual-nozzle apparatus  12  can include an outer nozzle  16  having an inner tube  18  therein. Apparatus  12  can be configured to encapsulate a core within a shell. 
         [0016]    Outer nozzle  16  can receive a shell solution  22 , and inner nozzle  18  can receive a core solution  32 . Either or both the shell solution  22  and core solution  32  can be comprised of polymeric or metallic compositions and can have equal or different concentrations. Core solution  32  can contain material  20  to be encapsulated such as cells, for example. The shell and core solutions can comprise a variety of materials depending on the resulting capsule application including polymers and metals. Upon application of forces such as electrostatic, gas dynamic, fluid dynamic and/or acoustic forces of the two solutions, a uniform capsule  26  can be formed at the terminal end of apparatus  12 . 
         [0017]    In accordance with example implementations, acoustic excitation may be utilized to form capsule  26 . Capsule  26  can include material  20  surrounded by core  30 . Core  30  can also be surrounded by shell  28 . Capsule  26  can be produced and provided to reservoir  14 . Between reservoir  14  and apparatus  12  a power supply can be configured to electrically charge the capsules exiting the terminal end of apparatus  12  and prevent them from coalescing in the receiving reservoir  14 , due to the electrical repulsion between the charged capsules. 
         [0018]    Reservoir  14  can be a collection reservoir configured to receive capsule  26  within a solution. Reservoir  14  can also be configured to provide an electrical potential to the solution to prevent or control charge build-up in the reservoir. The solution in the reservoir  14  may contain additives to facilitate gelation or crosslinking or solidification of capsule  26 . Additives can include but are not limited to inorganic salts such as CaCl 2  and BaCl 2 . According to example implementations material  20  may be substantially centered within individual capsule  26  or can move about the shell  28  without protruding its outer surface. 
         [0019]    Material  20  provided to nozzle  18  and eventually encapsulated within capsule  26  can include biomaterials such as viable or even non-viable biologic materials including but not limited to mammalian cells such as pancreatic islet cells, myoblast cells, iNOS-expressing cells, parathyroid cells, fibroblast cells, hepatocyte cells, and hormone secreting cells having a protein base, for example. The islet cells can be living cells or dormant cells. In example implementations, the cells can be mammalian and isolated from a variety of donors, including but not limited to, porcine, ovine, human, and/or bovine. 
         [0020]    Within capsule  26 , imaging agents can also be provided that can contain nanoparticles, for example. In addition, the nanoparticles can be utilized for tracing using imaging technology such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Such additives can be radioactive, have dual modality and/or be optical or MRI contrast agents, for example. These contrast agents can be inserted into or solidified within an encapsulated portion of capsule  26 , for example. 
         [0021]    Capsule  26  can include a shell comprising primarily the material provided to nozzle  16 . The shell and/or the core can be an alginate as alginates can be immuno-inert (non-antigenic), biocompatible, and/or have limited degradability. In other implementations, the shell and/or core can comprise a degradable, either fully or partially, material. 
         [0022]    In example implementations, the level of cross-linking between the materials of capsule  26  can be controlled. For example, solution  22  can include materials that when capsule  26  is formed the level of bonding and/or interaction between core  30  and shell  28  is predetermined to provide different strength characteristics. These strength characteristics can include degradation and/or density for example. Other materials can be utilized as the shell portion as well. These shell materials can be selected from a variety of materials having physical properties necessitated by application requirements. For example, carbohydrates, synthetic polymers and the like may be utilized as well as materials that are compatible under a given set of application conditions. 
         [0023]    Utilizing apparatus  10  materials such as cell and/or imaging agents can be encapsulated and centered to form microcapsules at high production rates. Example implementations can include encapsulated pancreatic islet cell transplantation where the capsules can be made of alginate and can be in the range of 450 to 600 μm in diameter. The microcapsule production rate can exceed 1000 microcapsules per second, for example. According to an example implementation, the capsule can include a cell encapsulated by a core  30  which can be in turn surrounded by a shell  28 . 
         [0024]    One example application of the present disclosure is to provide entirely encapsulated (i.e., non-antigenic) pancreatic islet cells for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes without or substantially minimizing the use of immunosuppressive drugs. Although the transplantation of pancreatic islet cells is a viable therapy for Type 1 diabetes the current methods have limited effectiveness; resulting in poor insulin control and necessitating the use of immune suppression therapy which restricts the therapy to a limited number of patients. The encapsulation of islet cells in capsules by prior art systems has been shown to be non-antigenic thus overcoming the limitations of the current technology. 
         [0025]    According to example implementations, products of the apparatus and methods described herein may be applied without the need of immune suppression. Methods such as those described in K. Y. Jang, K. Kim, and R. S. Upadhye, “Study of sol-gel processing for fabrication of hollow silica-aerogel spheres,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 8:33, pp. 1732-1735, 1990; K. Kim, K. Y. Jang, and R. S. Upadhye, “Hollow silica spheres of controlled size and porosity by sol-gel processing,” J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 74:8, pp. 1987-1992, 1991; C. Berkland, K. Kim, and D. W. Pack, “Fabrication of PLG microspheres with precisely controlled and monodisperse size distributions,” J. Controlled Release, 73, 59-74, 2001; and Cory Berkland, D. W. Pack, and K. Kim, “Uniform double-walled polymer microspheres of controllable shell thickness,” Journal of Controlled Release, vol. 96, no. 1, pp. 101-111, 2004, can be applied to the present disclosure, and the materials utilized therein are incorporated by reference herein. 
         [0026]    As an example, the present disclosure provides an apparatus  10  wherein the inner nozzle  18  can carry an islet cell-containing alginate core solution  32  of one concentration, and the outer nozzle  16  another alginate-containing shell solution  22  of equal or different concentrations so that the islet cell-containing core solution stream is at least substantially or completely surrounded by the outer solution stream to form a coaxial jet. This jet, upon unidirectional or omnidirectional acoustic excitation caused by a common acoustic piezoelectric device, can break up the stream into substantially uniform core-shell microcapsules with the islet cell-containing alginate core surrounded by the alginate shell as shown in  FIG. 1 . By properly selecting the size of the inner and outer nozzle and adjusting the relative flow rates of the inner and outer solution stream and the frequency and amplitude of the acoustic excitation, the size and thickness of the capsules may be precisely controlled to the desired dimensions. In this way, one can provide that the islet cells contained in the microcapsules are separated from the microcapsule wall, at least as much as the thickness of the alginate shell and as a result, the immunoreactions that may be caused after islet cell transplantation by the islet cells protruding from the capsules may not be initiated. 
         [0027]    According to example implementations, by flowing the solution of the inner nozzle  18  into the outer nozzle  16  to form the shell one can provide that the cells be contained in the core region of the core-shell microcapsules. Material solidification processes (e.g., crosslinking) can start from the outer surface of the microcapsules and move inward to provide cells that are contained inside the microcapsules away from the outer surface of the microcapsules. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  depicts an illustrative embodiment of the apparatus of  FIG. 1  configured to inspect and segregate capsules. Utilizing the apparatus, capsules prepared in accordance with the materials and methods described can be assayed for completeness of encapsulation. A common high resolution camera  21  can provide images to a controller  25  (e.g., a common computing device such as a desktop computer or server) which can utilizing common image processing technology to inspect the capsules as they depart apparatus  10 . If a capsule is determined to be an undesirable capsule  24  such as missing a core, or having a protruding core, the controller  25  can direct a high voltage source  27  to charge the undesirable capsule  24  by way of a ring conductor  26  with a negative or positive bias. 
         [0029]    The bias is only applied to undesirable capsules  24 . The controller  25  can then be programmed to direct a deflection plate  28  to segregate the undesirable capsule  24  away from a path of the desirable capsules  22  by utilizing a potential that draws the undesirable capsule  24  towards the plate  28  and redirects the undesirable capsule  24  to a waste collector  29 . Since only the undesirable capsules  24  are charged, the desirable capsules  22  are substantially unaffected by the potential of plate  28 , thereby maintaining their current path towards a sample collector  14  with a collection solution which may or may not contain additive(s) to facilitate gelation, crosslinking or solidification. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , thus fabricated alginate microcapsules are shown that contain surrogate cells, i.e., ethyl cellulose in the core region. In this illustration, the shell is rigid while the core can move about the capsule without protruding the outer rigid shell. This depiction can demonstrate that these cells in the core do not extend beyond the perimeter established by the microcapsules and thus the present disclosure is capable of containing the cells in the core region. The present method can provide control of the polymer concentrations and flow rates of the outer and inner solutions, and thus controlling the mass ratios of the two polymers in each nascent droplet, resulting in precise control of the microcapsule diameter and the shell thickness. As a result, the minimum distance between the outer surface of the microcapsule and the cell in the core can be controlled. Likewise, the selection of materials between the inner and outer solutions can be chosen based on porosity of the materials, the porosities giving rise to different densities of the materials. 
         [0031]    According to example implementations, an ethyl cellulose core, for example, can be utilized as a surrogate cell using the apparatus  10  of  FIG. 1 . Capsules can be produced at a rate of about 1000 per second with alginate as the shell material. A similar feasibility test can also be performed with a viscous dextran core rather than an ethyl cellulose core. The capsules produced using the viscouse dextran core with a rigid outer shell is demonstrated in  FIG. 4 . Microcapsules of the present disclosure can be greater than 400 μm in diameter or from about 500 to 600 μm in diameter. The cells within the shell can be 20 μm in size with a production rate of about 1000 encapsulated cells per second. 
         [0032]      FIGS. 5 and 6  depict optical microscope pictures of alginate capsules encapsulating mice fibroblast cells ( FIG. 5 ) and bovine liver cells ( FIG. 6 ) with a scale bar of 200 μm. In both illustrations the shell thickness is very thin but rigid, thereby preventing the cells contained therein from protruding the outer shell. With a thin outer shell, which can be produced by a controlled exposure to a solidification solution, the cells in the capsule can move about freely without being overly constrained or damaged by an excessively thick rigid shell.  FIG. 7  depicts optical microscopic pictures of alginate microspheres encapsulating canola oil and water-soluble dextran with a scale bar is 200 μm.  FIG. 7  illustrates the diversity of microcapsules that can be created by the apparatus  10  of the present disclosure. 
         [0033]      FIG. 8  depicts apparatus  10  in a laboratory setting utilizing an acoustic wave generator. The apparatus depicted in  FIG. 8  has been utilized to produce one or more of the aforementioned capsule embodiments. 
         [0034]    From the foregoing descriptions, it would be evident to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art that the aforementioned embodiments can be modified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope and spirit of the claims described below. For example, apparatus  12  may be configured to encapsulate a core within a primarily metal comprising shell and as such, apparatus  12  may be constructed of materials configured to encapsulate using molten metal. Broadly speaking, there can be innumerable combinations of materials and shell solutions for producing capsules by way of the apparatus disclosed herein. For practical reasons these embodiments are not disclosed, but are contemplated by the present disclosure. 
         [0035]    Other suitable modifications can be applied to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the reader is directed to the claims for a fuller understanding of the breadth and scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0036]      FIG. 9  depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of a computer system  900  within which a set of instructions, when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client user machine in server-client user network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. 
         [0037]    The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will be understood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly any electronic device that provides voice, video or data communication. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. 
         [0038]    The computer system  900  may include a processor  902  (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a main memory  904  and a static memory  906 , which communicate with each other via a bus  908 . The computer system  900  may further include a video display unit  910  (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, a solid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system  900  may include an input device  912  (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device  914  (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit  916 , a signal generation device  918  (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interface device  920 . 
         [0039]    The disk drive unit  916  may include a machine-readable medium  922  on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software  924 ) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions  924  may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory  904 , the static memory  906 , and/or within the processor  902  during execution thereof by the computer system  900 . The main memory  904  and the processor  902  also may constitute machine-readable media. 
         [0040]    Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement the methods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatus and systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions in two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, and hardware implementations. 
         [0041]    In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the methods described herein are intended for operation as software programs running on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementations can include, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also be constructed to implement the methods described herein. 
         [0042]    The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containing instructions  924 , or that which receives and executes instructions  924  from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a network environment  926  can send or receive voice, video or data, and to communicate over the network  926  using the instructions  924 . The instructions  924  may further be transmitted or received over a network  926  via the network interface device  920 . 
         [0043]    While the machine-readable medium  922  is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present disclosure. 
         [0044]    The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile) memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape; and carrier wave signals such as a signal embodying computer instructions in a transmission medium; and/or a digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more of a machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein and including art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations herein are stored. 
         [0045]    Although the present specification describes components and functions implemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standards and protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards and protocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are considered equivalents. 
         [0046]    The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments, and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all the elements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use of the structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. 
         [0047]    Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single invention or inventive concept if more than one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. 
         [0048]    The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.