Encapsulation of living tissue cells in inorganic microspheres prepared from an organosilicon

摘要

Living tissue cells such as from an animal or a plant are encapsulated in inorganic microspheres. An organosilicon precursor such as tetraethoxysilane or an organometallic precursor such as aluminum tri-n-propoxide is hydrolyzed in an aqueous acidic solution to form a gel forming solution. Tissue cells are mixed with a salt solution such as Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution to form a solution containing the tissue cells. The solution containing tissue cells and the gel forming solution are mixed to form a mixture. The mixture is mixed with an oil that is immiscible with the mixture and has a lower specific density than the mixture. The resultant mixture is stirred to form microspheres encapsulating the tissue cells. The mixture containing the tissue cells and the gel forming solution may be formed into droplets and added to the top of a column containing the oil to form the microspheres.