A Bio-artificial Pancreas Created Using Cell Encapsulation in Self-assembled Microcontainers on Alginate Sheet

ABSTRACT This paper presents a bio-artificial pancreas fabricated with self-assembled, precisely structured 3D microcontainers on a rolled-up alginate sheet. We utilize a novel 3D membrane approach developed in our laboratory to package pancreatic βcells so that they can be transplanted and function like an autonomous insulin-producing organ. Our approach provides stable and adequate diffusion of insulin from the microcontainers, as a prior step to the ultimate artificial pancreas which will eventually achieve precise immunoisolation of encapsulated cells using nanotechnology.