title: Advances in cell encapsulation technology and its application in drug delivery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cell encapsulation technology has improved enormously since it was proposed 50 years ago. The advantages offered over other alternative systems, such as the prevention of repetitive drug administration, have triggered the use of this technology in multiple therapeutic applications.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this article, improvements in cell encapsulation technology and strategies to overcome the drawbacks that prevent its use in the clinic have been summarized and discussed. Different studies and clinical trials that have been performed in several therapeutic applications have also been described.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The authors believe that the future translation of this technology from bench to bedside requires the optimization of diverse aspects: i) biosafety, controlling and monitoring cell viability; ii) biocompatibility, reducing pericapsular fibrotic growth and hypoxia suffered by the graft; iii) control over drug delivery; iv) and the final scale up. On the other hand, an area that deserves more attention is the cryopreservation of encapsulated cells as this will facilitate the arrival of these biosystems to the clinic.
authors.affiliation: University of the Basque Country, Laboratory of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, NanoBioCel Group, Faculty of Pharmacy, UPV/EHU , Vitoria-Gasteiz, 01006 , Spain.
authors.forename: Haritz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gurruchaga
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Saenz del Burgo
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ciriza
authors.forename: Gorka
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Orive
authors.forename: Rosa María
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: Jose Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pedraz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans
keywords: alginate; biocompatibility; biosafety; cell source; cryopreservation; drug delivery; microencapsulation; therapeutic applications