title: Biocompatibility and physicochemical characteristics of alginate-polycation microcapsules.
abstract: There is a need for better understanding of the biocompatibility of alginate-polycation microcapsules based on their physicochemical characteristics. Microcapsules composed of alginate with 44% (IntG) or 71% (HiG) guluronate, gelled with calcium (Ca) or barium (Ba) and coated with poly-L-lysine (PLL) or poly-l-ornithine (PLO), followed by IntG alginate were compared. For microcapsules with an IntG(Ca) gel core, using PLO instead of PLL resulted in less immune cell adhesion after 2 days in C57BL/6J mice. The PLO microcapsules were also characterized by greater hydrophilicity and superior resistance to swelling and damage under osmotic stress. For microcapsules with a PLL membrane, replacing the IntG(Ca) gel core with IntG(Ba) or HiG(Ca) gel resulted in stronger immune responses (p<0.05). This was explained by poor penetration of PLL into the gel, as demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses and membrane rupturing during osmotic swelling. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses show that all microcapsules had the same amount of polycation at their surface. Moreover, alginate coatings had non-significant effects on the biocompatibility and physicochemical properties of the microcapsules. Thus, alginate-polycation interactions for membrane formation are more important for biocompatibility than either the quantity of polycation at the surface or the alginate coating.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'innovation et d'analyse de bioperformance, Institut de génie biomédical, Ecole Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec, Canada. susan-kimberly.tam@polymtl.ca
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bilodeau
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dusseault
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Langlois
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hallé
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Yahia
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002214:Capsules; D055598:Chemical Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects*; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010529:Peritoneal Cavity; D011073:Polyamines / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000071228:Polyelectrolytes; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D017155:Wettability / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002214:Capsules; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011073:Polyamines; D000071228:Polyelectrolytes