Artificial Cell Technologies, Inc. (ACT) is an early-stage bionanotechnology company that engineers and fabricates coatings, capsules, and “Artificial Cells” from polymers called polypeptides. These polymers can be pictured as strings of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins in the body. ACT designs peptides and uses them to make coatings, capsules, and Artificial Cells by a method called layer-by-layer self-assembly (LBL).

ACT's key innovation is the combination of designed polypeptides and the LBL methodology for specific product applications. Peptide design affords a vast range of specific functional properties with an environmentally benign material. LBL is a simple, established, and reliable method for the engineering and manufacture of coatings, capsules, and Artificial Cells. Control over polypeptide structure and nanofilm architecture leads to control over biological response at the cellular or system level. The technology can be used to “tune” properties such as immunogenicity, interactions with specific cell types, and pathway and rate of clearance.
ACT’s first products are surface coatings for cell research, testing, diagnostics, bioreactors, and regenerative medicine. The range of capabilities of ACT’s versatile nanofilm technology and the suitability of the technology for precise control over film fabrication and biological response make it promising for the development of numerous applications in medicine and industry. ACT’s product pipeline includes coatings for implant devices and vaccines for infectious diseases or cancer.
Development of the polypeptide multilayer nanofilm technology began in 2001. ACT was established in New Haven, Connecticut in 2006 to commercialize the technology’s most promising applications. ACT has research facilities in New Haven, CT as well as on the campus of Central Michigan Universtiy (CMU) in Mt. Pleasant, MI.
ACT has ongoing research collaborations with CMU as well as the University of Connecticut.