Synthetic poly(ethylene glycol)-based microfluidic islet encapsulation reduces graft volume for delivery to highly vascularized and retrievable transplant site.

ABSTRACT: Transplant of hydrogel-encapsulated allogeneic islets has been explored to reduce or eliminate the need for chronic systemic immunosuppression by creating a physical barrier that prevents direct antigen presentation. Although successful in rodents, translation of alginate microencapsulation to large animals and humans has been hindered by large capsule sizes (≥500 μm diameter) that result in suboptimal nutrient diffusion in the intraperitoneal space. We developed a microfluidic encapsulation system that generates synthetic poly(ethylene glycol)-based microgels with smaller diameters (310 ± 14 μm) that improve encapsulated islet insulin responsiveness over alginate capsules and allow transplant within vascularized tissue spaces, thereby reducing islet mass requirements and graft volumes. By

SUBMITTER: Weaver JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6487074 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature