DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Transplantation of islets of Langerhans for the clinical treatment of Type I diabetes has had a resurgence of interest due to results obtained using the "Edmonton protocol". However, at this time, procurement of donor pancreases for islet isolation and… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall objective of this proposal is to define the hypothermic storage conditions and shelf life for tissue engineered cartilage constructs (TECCs) required for commercial manufacturing and distribution. Preliminary studies employing TECCs have demonstrated… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In-vitro drug testing on precision-cut liver slices (PCLS) provides the most realistic biochemical metabolic profile of in-situ conditions for predicting drug toxicity and metabolism during early stage drug development. An ample supply of cryopreserved human… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Assays are being developed in efforts to reduce the number of animals required for research. In particular, cell based systems that can evaluate a variety of compounds and/or screen single compounds with many cell types would provide the most advantageous… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Transplantation of islets of Langerhans for the clinical treatment of Type I diabetes has had a resurgence of interest due to results obtained using the "Edmonton protocol". However, at this time, procurement of donor pancreases for islet isolation and… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Allogeneic human heart valves are used in approximately 20% of the tissue heart valve procedures performed annually. Most allogeneic human heart valves (also known as allografts or homografts) are cryopreserved and stored in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The ability of islet transplantation to reproducibly reverse diabetes for extended periods has been demonstrated in recent clinical studies. However the need for 2-3 donor organs per transplant means that less than 1% o f the insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM)… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Transplantation of islets of Langerhans for the clinical treatment of Type I diabetes has had a resurgence of interest due to results obtained using the Edmonton protocol . However, at this time, procurement of donor p ancreases for islet isolation and… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long term goal is the development of better, longer hypothermic storage conditions for liver transplants than currently possible in clinical practice using novel insect antifreeze proteins. Hypothermic injury result s in vascular dysfunction during liver… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): More than 43,000 Americans die each year from liver disease, making it the 10th leading disease- related cause of death in the US. Cirrhosis with irreversible injury and scarring of the liver, is the most prevalent caus e of liver failure and is attributable to… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Long term preservation is crucial as an enabling technology for regenerative medicine products that contain living cells. However, while cryopreservation works well for most cells, some cells are more sensitive and hard to cryopreserve by freezing. Plus, the… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long term goal is the development of better, longer hypothermic storage conditions, using novel insect antifreeze proteins, for liver transplants than is currently possible in clinical practice. The use of hypotherm ia as the principal means to suppress… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Renal transplantation has been a clinical reality for nearly 40 years. Transplantation is the only effective solution for organ end-stage renal failure. Long term renal function following transplantation has been shown to be better when kidneys are not subjected… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In an effort to reduce the use of animals for toxicity testing, companies have developed in vitro skin models or equivalents to replace the Draize skin irritation test. This development has been further pushed by a Euro pean Union regulation that will prohibit… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): More than 43,000 Americans die each year from liver disease, making it the 10th leading disease- related cause of death in the US. Cirrhosis with irreversible injury and scarring of the liver is the most prevalent causeof liver failure and is attributable to… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a worldwide consensus that islet transplantation may be considered a viable option for the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and clinical trials are underway at many centers around the world. Asthis approach for curing diabetes… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Twenty four million Americans are affected with end-stage lung disease which is the 4th leading cause of death in the US, and there are currently 2,122 candidates on the lung transplant waiting list. Emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Vascular grafting is performed clinically to repair or replace diseased coronary artery and peripheral vessels to restore normal blood flow patterns. Synthetic grafts composed of polymers such as Dacron and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene do not work well in… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In modern day medicine, cellular therapies, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering all involve technologies for harvesting, expanding, modifying and re-implanting live viable cells and tissues. Processes for preparing the therapeutic products that… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Autologous regenerative medicine tissue therapy costs are very high because when individual tissues are manufactured all the costs fall on a single patient. Allogeneic tissues are cheaper because large tissue batches can be made and the costs are shared by many… More