University of Twente Student Theses
Assessment of the immunoprotective character of β-cell laden PEG-TA microgels over time
Visser, M. (2020) Assessment of the immunoprotective character of β-cell laden PEG-TA microgels over time.
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| Abstract: | Diabetes Mellitus type 1 is a disease where patients don’t produce enough insulin because their own immune system attacks the insulin producing islet cells. Researchers have been looking for a permanent cure for decades and islet cell transplantation might be a way to cure the disease but they would need to be protected against the immune system. This can be done by encapsulating the cells in a material that can protect them from the immune system. A novel way to encapsulate cells is by using a microfluidic device made from PMMA. By forming PEG-TA polymer droplets in the microfluidic device and enzymatically crosslinking them from the outside in, small 100-200 µm microgels can be made. In this thesis I evaluated the immunoprotective character of these cell laden microgels over time. MIN6 cells were encapsulated in 10% PEG-TA microgels and cultured for 30 days. The microgels were found to be immunoprotective compared to the control but the development of the immunoprotective character over time was inconclusive. It was found that cell viability remains larger than 60% over a period of 30 days and that the cells aggregate into dense spheroids after a few days which grow in size over time. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | TNW: Science and Technology |
| Subject: | 42 biology, 44 medicine |
| Programme: | Biomedical Technology BSc (56226) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/87463 |
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