Oxidative stress in alpha and beta cells as a selection criterion for biocompatible biomaterials

The clinical success of islet transplantation is limited by factors including acute ischemia, stress upon transplantation, and delayed vascularization. Islets experience high levels of oxidative stress due to delayed vascularization after transplantation and this can be further aggravated by their encapsulation and undesirable cell-biomaterial interactions. To identify biomaterials that would not further increase oxidative stress levels and that are also suitable for manufacturing a beta cell encapsulation device, we studied five clinically approved polymers for their effect on oxidative stress and islet (alpha and beta cell) function. We found that 300 poly(ethylene oxide terephthalate) 55/poly(butylene terephthalate) 45 (PEOT/PBT300) was more resistant to breakage and more elastic than other biomaterials, which is important for its immunoprotective function. In addition, PEOT/PBT300 did not induce oxidative stress or reduce viability in MIN6 beta cells, and even promoted protective endogenous antioxidant expression over 7 days. Importantly, PEOT/PBT300 is one of the biomaterials we studied that did not interfere with insulin secretion in human islets. These data indicate that PEOT/PBT300 may be a suitable biomaterial for an islet encapsulation device.