3D Bioprinting of Functional Islets of Langerhans in an Alginate/Methylcellulose Hydrogel Blend
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
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 language | English |
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Article number | 1801631 |
Journal | Advanced healthcare materials |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 7 |
Publication status | Published - 11 Apr 2019 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
PubMed | 30835971 |
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ORCID | /0000-0001-9075-5121/work/160047974 |
Keywords
Sustainable Development Goals
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- 3D bioprinting, alginate, diabetes, insulin, macroporous, pancreatic islet