SUMMARY

Cellular therapeutics are gaining significant interest and importance in the field of medicine and pharmaceuticals. Transportation of cellular therapies require 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) is optimal for short-term storage and transport of cells due to the higher viability rates 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 conservation properties of Phase Change Materials (PCMs). Vacuum Insulated Panels (VIPs) are utilized for their extremely efficient capabilities of decreasing the rate of heat transfer. The design tool is capable of theoretically designing a container capable of near constant cellular therapy temperatures for almost any given environmental temperatures encountered. 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 indicted 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.