HIGH VOLTAGE ALGINATE ENCAPSULATION OF STEM CELLS IN ALGINATE FOR TRANSPLANTATION AND CRYOPRESERVATION

• Published in: International journal of artificial organs 2014-01, Vol.37 (8), p.643-643
• Main Authors: Gryshkov, O, Pogozhykh, D, Hofmann, N, AL Halabi, F AL, Mueller, T, Glasmacher, B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alginates; Beads; Encapsulation; High voltages; Integrity; Membranes; Stem cells; Three dimensional
• ISSN: 0391-3988
• DOI: 10.5301/ijao.5000347

Aim: Encapsulation of stem cells in alginate 3D constructs has been shown to protect the encapsulated cells from the host immune response as well as from the ice recrystallization after cryopreservation. The commonly used encapsulation methods fail to generate alginate beads with narrow size distribution. We aimed at evaluation of high voltage to encapsulate stem cells in alginate. Methods: We encapsulated mesenchymal stem cells in 1.6% sterilized alginate at applied voltage (15, 20, 25kV). MSCs were seeded for MTT either immediately post-encapsulation or after 24 h of pre-incubation in culture. Cryopreservation was conducted with 1 [degrees]K/min cooling rate down to -80 [degrees]C with 10% Me2SO (v/v) as a cryoprotectant. After being stored at -150 [degrees]C for 5 days, samples were thawed at 37 [degrees]C. Then derived MSCs were analyzed for metabolic activity and membrane integrity. Results: We found no significant effect of flow rate and cell concentration on resulted bead diameter. The applied high-voltage (15-25kV) did not affect the membrane integrity and proliferation of cells post-encapsulation and cryopreservation. However, MSCs frozen after pre-incubation possessed significantly lower proliferation rate as compared to non-incubated. Conclusions: High voltage encapsulation is a promising method to encapsulate stem cell; it can also be scaled up with an application of high cell numbers. The proliferation of MSCs may be further improved by decreasing the size of beads.