Claims for Patent: 5,879,939

Summary for Patent: 5,879,939

Title:	Isolation of cells from organ tissue using sonication
Abstract:	A method for isolating specific viable cell types from surrounding organ tissue is provided. The method entails the use of sonication in conjunction with tissue dissociating agents to free the cells of interest. A specific application of the method is the isolation of the insulin producing tissue of the pancreas, the islets of Langerhans. The method results in a high yield of islets that maintain a high level of viability.
Inventor(s):	Gray; Brad (Huntington Beach, CA), Baird; Monty Kahn (Garden Grove, CA), Lamberti; Francis (Irvine, CA)
Assignee:	Neocrin Company (Irvine, CA)
Application Number:	08/442,587
Patent Claims:	1. A method for isolating viable cells from organ tissue which has been removed from the body comprising the steps of: a. treating the organ tissue with a solution containing a tissue dissociating agent; b. sonicating the organ tissue by supplying soundwaves in an energy range between 10.sup.-4 watt/cm.sup.2 and 10 watts/cm.sup.2, the sonication being performed while the organ tissue is being treated with the solution containing the tissue dissociating agent such that more than about 50% of the cells are viable; and c. separating viable released cells of interest from other organ tissue. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the organ tissue is selected from the group consisting of an intact organ, organ segments, and partially dissociated organ tissue. 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the tissue dissociating agent is selected from the group consisting of tissue degrading enzymes and chelating agents. 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the tissue degrading enzyme is selected from the group consisting of collagenase, trypsin, neutral protease, and dispase. 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the sonication is conducted in a frequency range of 7 Hz to 40 MHz. 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the sonication is conducted in a frequency range of 7 Hz to 20 MHz. 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the soundwaves are supplied by a sonicating water bath. 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the sonication is conducted in the frequency range of 40 kHz to 50 kHz. 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the tissue dissociating agent is collagenase. 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the soundwaves are supplied in the range of 7 Hz to 40 MHz. 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the soundwaves are supplied in the range of 7 Hz to 20 MHz. 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the organ is selected from the group consisting of pancreas, liver, and adrenal gland. 13. The method of claim 2 wherein the organ is selected from the group consisting of pancreas, liver, and adrenal gland. 14. The method of claim 1 wherein the organ is from a transgenic animal. 15. The method of claim 1 wherein the soundwaves are supplied at between 0.1 watt/cm.sup.2 and 1.0 watt/cm.sup.2. 16. A method for isolating viable islets of Langerhans from pancreatic tissue which has been removed from the body comprising the steps of: a. treating the pancreatic tissue with a solution comprising pancreatic tissue degrading enzymes; b. sonicating the pancreatic tissue by supplying soundwaves having an energy range of between 10.sup.-4 watt/cm.sup.2 to 10 watts/cm.sup.2, wherein the treating step and the sonicating step at least partially overlap (such that more than 50% of cells are viable); and c. separating released viable islets of Langerhans from other pancreatic tissue. 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the pancreatic tissue is selected from the group consisting of a whole pancreas, segments of a pancreas and partially dissociated pancreas. 18. The method of claim 10 wherein said treating step further comprises ductal distension with the solution comprising pancreatic tissue degrading enzymes. 19. The method of claim 16 wherein the pancreatic tissue is treated with collagenase. 20. The method of claim 16 wherein the soundwaves are supplied by a sonicating water bath. 21. The method of claim 20 wherein the sonicating water bath emits soundwaves in a frequency range of 40 kHz to 50 kHz. 22. The method of claim 16 wherein the soundwaves are supplied at between 0.1 watt/cm.sup.2 and 1.0 watt/cm.sup.2. 23. The method of claim 16 wherein the pancreatic tissue is selected from a group consisting of human pancreatic tissue and pig pancreatic tissue. 24. The method of claim 16 wherein the pancreatic tissue is from a transgenic animal. 25. A method for isolating viable islets of Langerhans from a mammalian pancreas which has been removed from the body comprising the steps of: a. subjecting the mammalian pancreas to ductal distension with a solution containing collagenase; b. sonicating the mammalian pancreas by applying soundwaves in an energy range of 10.sup.-4 watts/cm.sup.2 to 10 watts/cm.sup.2 to the mammalian pancreas while the mammalian pancreas is in the presence of the solution containing collagenase (such that more than about 50% of the cells are viable); and c. separating released viable islets of Langerhans from other mammalian pancreatic tissue. 26. The method of claim 25 wherein the solution containing collagenase has a collagenase concentration of between about 0.5 mg/ml and 6.0 mg/ml. 27. The method of claim 25 wherein said sonicating step is accomplished by means of a sonicating water bath. 28. The method of claim 27 wherein the sonicating water bath in said sonicating step is maintained at a temperature between about 20.degree. C. and 38.degree. C. 29. The method of claim 25 wherein the soundwaves are supplied in the range of 7 Hz to 40 MHz. 30. The method of claim 29 wherein the soundwaves are supplied in the range of 7 Hz to 20 MHz. 31. The method of claim 30 wherein the soundwaves are supplied in the range of 40 kHz to 50 kHz. 32. The method of claim 25 wherein the soundwaves are in the energy range of between 0.1 watt/cm.sup.2 and 1.0 watt/cm.sup.2. 33. The method of claim 25 wherein the mammalian pancreas is from a transgenic animal.

Details for Patent 5,879,939

Applicant	Tradename	Biologic Ingredient	Dosage Form	BLA	Approval Date	Patent No.	Expiredate
Smith & Nephew, Inc.	SANTYL	collagenase	Ointment	101995	06/04/1965		2039-02-26