Advances in polymeric islet cell encapsulation technologies to limit the foreign body response and provide immunoisolation

- To successfully transplant islets, biomaterial design may offer a solution.
- Immunoisolation using semi-permeable barriers can remove broad immunosuppression.
- Chemical modifications can inhibit inflammation to ensure long term graft survival.

Islet transplantation for the treatment of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is hampered by the shortage of donor tissue and the need for life-long immunosuppression. The engineering of materials to limit host immune rejection opens the possibilities of utilising allogeneic and even xenogeneic cells without the need for systemic immunosuppression. Here we discuss the most recent developments in immunoisolation of transplanted cells using advanced polymeric biomaterials, utilising macroscale to nanoscale approaches, to limit aberrant immune responses.