DEVELOPMENT OF A CONTAINER DESIGN TOOL FOR TRANSPORTATION OF CELLS AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
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Williams, Joseph David
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Abstract
Cellular therapeutics are gaining significant interest and importance in the field of medicine and pharmaceuticals. Transportation of cellular therapies requires methods of transport capable of maintaining relatively small internal temperature variations. Recent studies have shown that ambient temperature (defined as 25ᵒC for the cell-based therapeutics of interest here) is optimal for short-term storage and transport of cells due to the higher viability of cells. Thus, Ambient Temperature Transportation (ATT) is selected as the method for the development of this container design tool. All analyses and calculations of heat transfer through the container are based on the First Law of Thermodynamics, and the energy conversation properties of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) to store this thermal energy. Vacuum Insulated Panels (VIPs) are utilized for their extremely efficient capabilities of decreasing the rate of heat transfer. Upon analysis of three different external transient temperature profiles consisting of, constant temperature (Case1), high-temperature variation (Case2), and low-temperature variation (Case3), the optimal number of VIPs was determined to be 3, 4, and 5, respectively. The use of optimized VIPs led to a 76.2%, 47.7%, and 77.2% decrease in total heat transfer for Case 1, Case 2, and Case 3, respectively. Nano-Enhanced Phase Change Materials (NEPCMs) were investigated and evaluated to determine their applicability. Experimental and theoretical values of the NEPCM thermophysical properties were reviewed for use in the resulting design tool. This evaluation indicated that the large disparity between the current theoretical predictive techniques and the experimentally measured thermal conductivity, particularly as related to the nanoparticle concentration, could lead to large variations in the package design. As a result, it was determined that NEPCMs are applicable for temperature profiles that vary across the PCM transition temperature, but not for temperature profiles that exist entirely above or below it.
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2022-05-03
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