Optimizing the Performance of an Alginate-Based Stent for Mammalian Cell Immobilization

Stent implantation is one of the more common treatments for atherosclerosis, a condition that frequently leads to heart disease. However, there are many problems with the current metal stent design, mainly stent migration and tissue overgrowth. Therefore, to provide a solution to these problems as well as improve patient quality of life, our project focused on optimizing the membrane stability of biodegradable hydrogel-based stents. Using the polymer alginate and several strengthening agents, we worked on designing a mammalian cell-encapsulated biodegradable stent. We performed a variety of optimization tests, which included mechanical strength testing, membrane permeability, and cell viability. According to the following experiments, we were able to draw several conclusions. First we were able to determine which membrane coatings work best to optimize the alginate permeability. We were also able to establish which coatings result in a more consistent cross-linking composition. Additionally we concluded that a stand-alone alginate based stent is not suitable mechanically, but the alginate-based membrane could be used in conjunction with a biodegradable stent to provide a novel of system of stents capable of cell delivery