title: Determination of the Mechanical Strength of Microcapsules.
abstract: The promise of pancreatic islet transplantation is hindered by organ shortage, and the need for immunosuppression of transplant recipient in order to prevent rejection. Alginate microencapsulation can overcome these hurdles; however further optimization of this technique is required. Among the critical factors to be optimized is the durability of alginate microcapsules, which can be determined by their mechanical strength tests. Here we describe several simple and reliable methods to assist in assessing the mechanical strength of alginate beads.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA. marcus.darrabie@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Marcus D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Darabbie
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.|Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering & Sciences (SBES), Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Emmanuel C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Opara
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry*; D002214:Capsules / Q000737:chemistry*; D002412:Cations / Q000737:chemistry; D018914:Cells, Immobilized / Q000166:cytology / Q000637:transplantation; D019245:Compressive Strength; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry*; D004339:Drug Compounding / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000166:cytology; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D011073:Polyamines / Q000737:chemistry*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D002214:Capsules; D002412:Cations; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D011073:Polyamines
keywords: Alginate; Bead agitation; Encapsulated islets; Islet transplantation; Microencapsulation; Osmotic stress