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Stability of alginate microbead properties in vitro

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Abstract

Alginate microbeads have been investigated clinically for a number of therapeutic interventions, including drug delivery for treatment of ischemic tissues, cell delivery for tissue regeneration, and islet encapsulation as a therapy for type I diabetes. The physical properties of the microbeads play an important role in regulating cell behavior, protein release, and biological response following implantation. In this research alginate microbeads were synthesized, varying composition (mannuronic acid to guluronic acid ratio), concentration of alginate and needle gauge size. Following synthesis, the size, volume fraction, and morphometry of the beads were quantified. In addition, these properties were monitored over time in vitro in the presence of varying calcium levels in the microenvironment. The initial volume available for solute diffusion increased with alginate concentration and mannuronic (M) acid content, and bead diameter decreased with M content but increased with needle diameter. Interestingly, microbeads eroded completely in saline in less than 3 weeks regardless of synthesis conditions much faster than what has been observed in vivo. However, microbead stability was increased by the addition of calcium in the culture medium. Beads synthesized with low alginate concentration and high G content exhibited a more rapid change in physical properties even in the presence of calcium. These data suggest that temporal variations in the physical characteristics of alginate microbeads can occur in vitro depending on synthesis conditions and microbead environment. The results presented here will assist in optimizing the design of the materials for clinical application in drug delivery and cell therapy.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported, in part, by funding from the Gates Foundation (MLM), Mr. Edward Ross (MM, OK), Department of Veterans Affairs (EMB), National Science Foundation (Grant Nos: 0852048 and 0731201) and National Institutes of Health (Grant No: RO1 DK080897).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science & Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, 3255 South Dearborn St, Chicago, IL, 60616, USA

    Monica L. Moya, Michael Morley & Eric M. Brey

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA

    Monica L. Moya, Michael Morley & Eric M. Brey

  3. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA

    Omaditya Khanna

  4. Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winton-Salem, NC, USA

    Emmanuel C. Opara

  5. Research Service, Hines Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, IL, USA

    Eric M. Brey

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  1. Monica L. Moya
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  2. Michael Morley
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  4. Emmanuel C. Opara
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Correspondence to Eric M. Brey.

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Moya, M.L., Morley, M., Khanna, O. et al. Stability of alginate microbead properties in vitro. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 23, 903–912 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-012-4575-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-012-4575-9

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