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Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Synthesis of Soft Polysiloxane-urea Elastomers for Intraocular Lens Application
Published on: March 8, 2019
Enhanced activation and expansion of T cells using mechanically soft elastomer fibers
Alex Dang1, Sarah De Leo1, Danielle R Bogdanowicz1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Abstract:
Practical deployment of cellular therapies requires effective platforms for producing clinically relevant numbers of high-quality cells. This report introduces a materials-based approach to improving activation and expansion of T cells, which are rapidly emerging as an agent for treating cancer and a range of other diseases. Electrospinning is used to create a mesh of poly(ε-caprolactone) fibers, which is used to present activating ligands to CD3 and CD28, which activate T cells for expansion. Incorporation of poly(dimethyl siloxane) elastomer into the fibers reduces substrate rigidity and enhances expansion of mixed populations of human CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Intriguingly, this platform also rescues expansion of T cells isolated from CLL patients, which often show limited responsiveness and other features resembling exhaustion. By simplifying the process of cell expansion, compared to current bead-based platforms, and improving T cell expansion, the system introduced here may accelerate development of cellular immunotherapy.
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