MICROENCAPSULATION OF CELLS

摘要

In accordance with the present invention, it has been discovered that a major reason for the failure to achieve successful in vivo transplantation in large mammalian species has been flaws associated with the design of microcapsules taught in the prior art, flaws in the method of making such microcapsules, and a lack of tests to determine if a given microcapsule will be successful. In accordance with the present invention, a number of functional properties which must be met by a microcapsule in order to achieve successful in vivo transplantation in large animal models have been identified. These properties include (i) a mechanically stable capsule core, (ii) a mechanically strong capsule membrane (i.e., the membrane must be of sufficient strength to prevent capsule disruption), (iii) the absence of excess exposed positively-charged PLL (which leads to fibrosis), and (iv) an adequate level of diffusion of the entrapped biologically active material out of the capsule.