UNM engineering - School of Engineering - University of New Mexico

Heather Canavan, assistant professor of chemical andnuclear engineering, (left) and chemical engineeringgraduate student Jamie Reed (below left), collaboratewith Angela Wandinger-Ness, professor of pathologyat the School of Medicine in developing smartsurfaces for cell analysis.Solution: Smart SurfacesAngela Wandinger-Ness, professor of pathology at theSchool of Medicine, needed a better process for one facetof her research. Heather Canavan, assistant professorof chemical and nuclear engineering, had the perfecttechnique. The CBME brought them together in a successfulresearch collaboration.Wandinger-Ness studies cells and how therapeutic drugsinteract with them. Her goal is to analyze single cellsand measure protein levels on their surface using a flowcytometer, a machine that measures particles in a streamingfluid. Currently, Wandinger-Ness uses enzymes to removecells from surfaces like Petri dishes, on which they aregrown. Then she places them into suspension, where theycan be analyzed by flow cytometry. Her concern is thatthe enzymatic process destroys some of the proteins shewants to study.Canavan’s new technique is a perfect fit. She studies “smartsurfaces,” thermoresponsive polymers with properties thatchange based on environmental cues like temperature orelectrical field. By growing cells on these smart, flexiblesurfaces, Canavan can create clumps of cells that peel offlike a Post-It note, or even isolate single cells that pop off thepolymer without changing their structure.The researchers’ ultimate goal is to create an off-the-shelfdevice that Wandinger-Ness could use to allow accuratecell analysis. Canavan says the research wouldn’t havebeen possible without the CBME. “Gabriel Lopez madethe initial connection between the two sides and theCBME provided financial support,” says Canavan. “Therewas both an intellectual and financial contribution thatwas very significant.”08 UNM Engineering