The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent on an innovation to stimulate T cells for immunotherapy. The innovation was created by the Yan Yu lab of IU Bloomington.

T cells can be used to fight cancer, enhance immune therapy, fight viral infection and induce tolerance in autoimmune disease. An essential step in employing T cells for those uses is to stimulate their activation in vitro, however the gold standard for in vitro stimulation does not truly mimic the cells. Additionally, a method to stimulate T cells in vivo is time-consuming, expensive and difficult to reproduce.

The IU innovation includes the methods to produce and use biomimetic Janus particles capable of activating T cells in vitro.

The innovation was disclosed to the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office. The mission of the office is to drive innovation to the market for the benefit of the public, the university and innovators for state, national and global commerce. IU personnel can disclose an invention online.