Biomaterial Treatment: A Protective Shield for Beta Cells

   

     Research efforts at Georgia Tech have proven fruitful as shown in an article from May 8, 2013. Clinicians from Emory University collaborated with Georgia Tech engineers to find a novel way to combat Type 1 Diabetes via injecting insulin-producing cell clusters. Currently, the most disturbing problem with current transplant techniques is that nearly half the cells die due to exposure, and islet cells also have trouble accessing necessary blood vessels.

     Of course, these cells must be protected in some way from the immune system, so the researchers developed a hydrogel (polymer) that functions as an instrumental agent in the delivery process. The hydrogel coats the outside of the cell cluster and protects it as it is injected just outside the small intestine.

     Not only does the hydrogel serve as a barrier to any threats, but also can facilitate blood vessel formation as it degrades over time. In doing so, the biomaterial was proven to also connect the islets to the newly formed vessels.

     In the image, the red stain represents the islets, the green indicates the newly formed blood vessels, and the blue represent DNA-containing nuclei.