Dian R. Arifin1,
2, Deepak K. Kadayakkara1, 2, Jeff W.M. Bulte,
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1Department
of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD,
United States; 2Cellular Imaging Section, Institute for Cell
Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD,
United States; 3Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore, MD, United States
Microencapsulation of pancreatic beta islets may potentially provide immunoprotection for islet grafts in treatment of type I diabetes. Here we demonstrated that co-encapsulation of perfluoropolyether emulsions improved the survival and therapeutic function of islet grafts. Fluorocapsules could be visualized as hot spots by 19F MRI with single capsule detection capability in vitro. 19F MRI was also able to distinguish intact versus ruptured fluorocapsules, and hence can be used to monitor the persistence of immunoprotection provided only by intact capsules.
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