ABSTRACT
A number of potential medical applications of artificial cells have been developed, including red blood cell substitutes, detoxification, artificial liver, artificial kidney, and immunosorbent and drug delivery systems. The encapsulation of living cells represents another important aspect of the artificial cell concept. The immobilized cells would act in the host as they had in the donor provided the surrounding membrane was impermeable to higher molecular weight antibodies but permeable to oxygen, glucose, substances and the internally generated hormones. The increase in quantity of insulin in the presence of high glucose concentrations clearly demonstrated that the viability and function of the cells were retained throughout the microencapsulation process. The porosity of the alginate-polylysine-alginate capsule membranes can be controlled so that cells and large molecules such as immunoglobulins and complement components are excluded from entry, whereas smaller molecules can easily penetrate the membranes to ensure sufficient metabolic exchange.
