Characterization of the NanoSpark^® GROW-NK Soluble Activator, a Feeder Cell and Magnetic Bead-Free Natural Killer Cell Expansion Technology

Natural killer (NK) cells have generated strong interest in the cell therapy field for combating various types of cancers. NK cells offer unique advantages to this emerging industry: they require no HLA matching and are excellent candidates for “off-the-shelf” therapies. NK cells can identify and attack cancer cells even without prior stimulation. However, a major limitation of NK cell therapies is the challenge of producing a sufficient quantity of NK cells to achieve a therapeutic effect. The current industry standard for NK cell expansion involves co-culturing NK cells with engineered feeder cell lines. These feeder cells are costly, labor-intensive to maintain, and require purification—a process that is time-consuming and difficult. Even after purification, feeder cells can still contaminate the final cell product. Nanotein’s novel platform technology, NanoSpark^®, helps overcome these obstacles.