A Novel Platform Providing Automated, Consistent and Gentle Cell Isolation from Tissues for Downstream Applications

INTRODUCTION
Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are lymphocytic cells that have invaded the tumor tissue. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) of TILs is a strategy to modify the immune system to recognize tumor cells and carry out an anti-tumor effector function. Today, TIL therapies consist of ex vivo expansion of TIL from resected tumor material and adoptive transfer into the cancer patient. Although the treatments have shown promising results in various tumor types, the production and reactivity of TIL products from many solid tumor types is variable and requires further research. Therefore, an efficient way to isolate TILs is crucial for basic and clinical research applications. Conventional cell separation technologies such as Ficoll gradient centrifugation, column-based magnetic separation, and FACS single cell sorting have issues in low cell recovery, compromised cell viability, and are time-consuming.