Kodecytes in Transfusion Medicine

Abstract

A kodecyte (ko•de•cyte) is a living cell that has been modified (koded) by the incorporation of one or more function-spacer-lipid constructs (FSL constructs) so as to gain a new or novel biological, chemical, or technological function. Function-spacer-lipid (FSL) Kode constructs (Kode Technology) can be used to engineer the surface of cells, viruses, and organisms or to modify solutions and nonbiological surfaces with bioactives. Natural glycolipids bearing ABO and Lewis antigens are able to partition between the plasma and the membranes of red blood cells. Although its initial days, they have a variety of applications in transfusion medicine, especially to design cells of various strengths with regard to antigen structure which are difficult to obtain naturally. These have immense utilization in training and running quality checks on reagents, advanced serological teaching panels, and novel research tools.

Keywords

• function-spacer-lipid
• kode
• kodecyte
• red blood cell