Scientists Develop Synthetic Red Blood Cells

Synthetic red blood cells mimic the key

structural properties of natural red blood

cells including size, shape, mechanical

flexibility and oxygen carrying capacity.

By Ed Martinez

December 15, 2009

A group of researchers from UC Santa Barbara and the University of Michigan have developed synthetic particles that closely mimic the characteristics and key functions of natural red blood cells—including softness, flexibility, and the ability to carry oxygen.

The primary function of natural red blood cells is to carry oxygen, and the synthetic red blood cells (sRBCs) perform this function well, retaining 90% of their oxygen-binding capacity after a week.

The sRBCs also have been shown to deliver therapeutic drugs effectively, and can carry well-distributed contrast agents for enhancing the resolution of diagnostic images.

“This ability to create flexible biomimetic carriers for therapeutic and diagnostic agents really opens up a whole new realm of possibilities in drug delivery and similar applications,” noted UCSB chemical engineering professor Samir Mitragotri. “We know that we can further engineer sRBCs to carry additional therapeutic agents, both encapsulated in the sRBC and on its surface.”

In addition to synthesizing particles that mimic the shape and properties of healthy red blood cells, the technique can also be used to develop particles that mimic the shape and properties of diseased cells, such as those found in sickle-cell anemia and hereditary eliptocytosis. The availability of such synthetic diseased cells is expected to lead to greater understanding of how those diseases and others affect red blood cells.