Viability and topographical analysis of microencapsulated β-cells exposed to a biotransformed tertiary bile acid: an ex vivo study

TLDR: Ten different formulations were examined and all formulations showed similar cell viability, which was enhanced by TCA addition, which suggests potential benefits of the microencapsulating parameters and TCA in β-cells microencapulation.

Abstract: Microencapsulated pancreatic β-cells have been studied as an ideal system for delivering insulin. However, the clinical applications have not been achieved. We tried multiple excipients/ratios and various methods for producing suitable microcapsules, but success remains limited. A recent study used the tertiary bile acid, taurocholic acid (TCA), to improve the rectal delivery of insulin while another study used TCA to improve the oral delivery of heparin. Thus, in this study, we used TCA in different formulations, using a new microencapsulating method, to study its suitability for β-cell microencapsulation. Using a methodology at set temperature of 37°C, amplitude of 1.5 and a total gelation time of 21 minutes, ten different formulations were examined (with or without TCA) and all formulations showed similar cell viability, which was enhanced by TCA addition. This suggests potential benefits of our microencapsulating parameters and TCA in β-cells microencapsulation.