Jaeyun Kim1,2, Dian R. Arifin1, Naser Muja1, Assaf A. Gilad1, Taeho Kim1,2, Aravind Arepally1, Taeghwan Hyeon2, Jeff WM Bulte1
1Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; 2Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
A novel alginate capsule-in-capsule (CIC) preparation was designed and microfabricated for immunoprotected cell transplantation with multimodal tracking capability including MRI, micro-CT, and ultrasound imaging. Using the dual capsule (CIC) approach for physical separation of human islets from the NPs, a better viability and cell function including glucose responsiveness and insulin secretion can be retained as compared to single Feridex/Au NP capsules. The CICs injected in peritoneal cavity in live mice were easily visualized on MRI, CT, and ultrasound.