Nanoporous Capsules for the Investigation of Macroencapsulation Parameters
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Investigator: Tejal Desai, PhD
Sponsor: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
Location(s): United States
Description
Our second year of funding was devoted to integrating the improved membrane design with the optimized cell clusters and monitoring of in vitro transport of insulin/glucose/IgG and cell oxygenation. We also focused on creating a macroencapsulation device that allows for recharging of cells. We began evaluations of islet performance within the advanced implant by simulating cyclical changes in blood glucose levels with a sensitive in vitro perifusion system. Finally, we published two papers, one book chapter, three abstracts, gave one presentation, and submitted one article for publication still awaiting acceptance.
Our next year of funding will be devoted to longer term in vitro studies and in vivo studies of fully integrated nanoporous biocapsules in normal and diabetic animal models. We will incorporate both the optimized membrane design as well as the optimized cellular matrix/organization into our macrocapsule in order to develop a successful cell delivery approach. In collaboration with the Bluestone group at UCSF, we will investigated the performance of our cell encapsulation implant in animal models. This work will lead to a better understanding of the macroencapsulation parameters that are necessary for the successful translation of this approach for pancreatic islets.