A Coralville company has announced it is the first in Iowa to operate a robotic stem cell separator that will provide "endless" opportunities for tissue research.
Cellular Engineering Technologies Inc., or CET, acquired the automated machine, called a Robosep, on Dec. 29 and ran the first tests the same day.
Company officials say the $50,000 machine advances scientific research by using two high-powered magnets on opposite ends to bind CD34 stem cells with an antibody.
What is relevant is that the machine then isolates the cell from its originating blood, isolating any immunological cell from either umbilical cord blood or adult blood. The goal is that, once treated, the stem cells can be reintroduced to a body to repair damaged areas.
"The possibilities for tissue engineering and tissue development are endless," said Anant M. Kamath, the company's chief operating officer.
Once isolated, the stem cells are treated with different growth factors, grown in an incubator and then evaluated for their response. The results can be used to better understand pharmaceutical drugs or genes' effects on cell functions.
"The cell is 100,000 times smaller than the thickness of a strand of human hair," Kamath said. "We are attempting to see if we can rebuild cells after they've been damaged. When treated with the right growth 'cocktail,' the cells can be differentiated into many kinds of cells -- immunological, skin, cardiac."
In studies involving mice, researchers have seen artificial injuries reversed, Kamath said.
"But there is a leap between mice and humans. It is still in a very experimental stage on humans. Our work is not for therapeutic use. The difference between research and therapeutic use is a lawsuit," he said.
The robot can do four simultaneous operations, which drastically increases productivity, Kamath said.
The six person staff at CET, 2660 Crosspark Road, would be able to produce hundreds of samples per week, he said.
Kamath said such research does not receive funding from the state. CET also does not conduct embryonic stem cell research, which is banned in Iowa.
"It's not necessary anymore," Kamath said.
He said the company wants "to show that high technology for stem cells can be found in this state."
"(Schools, investigators and other biotech companies) don't have to outsource stem cell isolation and testing to other states," he said.
CET, founded in 2000 by its president and chief executive officer, Dr. Alan Moy, operated through the University of Iowa until July 2005. It then became an independent company and moved to Coralville.
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