| 摘要 |
A size exclusion membrane, particularly an immunoprotective membrane, is formed by filling the pores of a supporting membrane with a hydrogel and cross-linking the hydrogel in a hydrated state. The supporting membrane is a porous membrane having pore size of less than 20 mu m and a tortuosity greater than 1 and preferably greater than 1.2. In a preferred embodiment, the supporting membrane is an open cell polyethersulfone wherein the pores are filled with a hydrated polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel which is cross-linked with, for example, glutaraldehyde while in a hydrated state. This can be used in a variety of different applications such as drug delivery, in vitro and in vivo filtration, and, for example, protection of pancreatic islet cells to provide a bio-artificial pancreas.
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