Principal Investigator Clark Colton
Applications include pancreatic islets of Langerhans for a hybrid artificial pancreas providing physiological regulation of blood glucose in diabetes. Issues include effects of spatial gradients in nutrients and wastes in high density cultures, O2 uptake kinetics, and effect of low PO2 on cell viability and function. Current projects focus on evaluating the effect of oxygen limitations on the mass of tissue that can be supported under a given set of conditions. Experiments are also underway to examine various approaches to increasing oxygen supply to tissue implanted in a biohybrid artificial organ. These approaches include (1) in situ generation of oxygen by electrochemical means, (2) induction of neovascularization at the host-implant interface by virtue of the membrane microarchitecture, and (3) induction of neovascularization by release of a diffusible angiogenic factor from the implanted tissue.