3D Bioprinting of Functional Islets of Langerhans in an Alginate/Methylcellulose Hydrogel Blend

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

Transplantation of pancreatic islets is a promising strategy to alleviate the unstable blood-glucose control that some patients with diabetes type 1 exhibit and has seen many advances over the years. Protection of transplanted islets from the immune system can be accomplished by encapsulation within a hydrogel, the most investigated of which is alginate. In this study, islet encapsulation is combined with 3D extrusion bioprinting, an additive manufacturing method which enables the fabrication of 3D structures with a precise geometry to produce macroporous hydrogel constructs with embedded islets. Using a plottable hydrogel blend consisting of clinically approved ultrapure alginate and methylcellulose (Alg/MC) enables encapsulating pancreatic islets in macroporous 3D hydrogel constructs of defined geometry while retaining their viability, morphology, and functionality. Diffusion of glucose and insulin in the Alg/MC hydrogel is comparable to diffusion in plain alginate; the embedded islets continuously produce insulin and glucagon throughout the observation and still react to glucose stimulation albeit to a lesser degree than control islets.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number1801631
JournalAdvanced healthcare materials
Volume8
Issue number7
Publication statusPublished - 11 Apr 2019
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 30835971
ORCID /0000-0001-9075-5121/work/160047974

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • 3D bioprinting, alginate, diabetes, insulin, macroporous, pancreatic islet