Development of Semi-Artificial Pancreas using Natural Polymers

1型糖尿病是一种器官特异性自身免疫性疾病，其中免疫系统攻击产生胰岛素的β细胞，导致这些细胞的损失，从而导致胰岛素缺乏症。它影响到全世界1600多万人。糖尿病可导致中风、肾衰竭、失明、心血管和神经疾病、糖尿病昏迷和过早死亡。聚羟基脂肪酸酯（PHA）是一种天然聚酯，由于其易于化学功能化、生物可吸收性和生物相容性，是多用途的生物材料。在这个项目中，我们的目标是创建一个半人工胰腺，它将构成两个主要组成部分，一个外部保护层，使用PHA以其热塑性形式创建和一个内部隔室含有胰岛素生产胰岛微囊化在PHA为基础的水凝胶。将模拟胰腺结构以创建类似的多隔室结构。因此，总的来说，该项目将涉及使用PHA基热塑性塑料和水凝胶开发生物人工胰腺，从而产生高度生物相容性的胰岛素释放医疗器械，用于有效治疗1型糖尿病。

Type 1 diabetes is an organ-specific autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta-cells, resulting in the loss of these cells, hence leading to insulin deficiency. It affects over 16 million people worldwide. Diabetes can lead to stroke, kidney failure, blindness, cardiovascular and nerve disease, diabetic coma, and premature mortality.Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are naturally occurring polyesters which are versatile biomaterials due to their ease of chemical functionalisation, bioresorbability and biocompatibility. In this project we will aim to create a semiartificial pancreas which will constitute two main components, an outer protective layer created using PHAs in their thermoplastic form and an inner compartment containing insulin producing Islets of Langerhans microencapsulated within PHA based hydrogels. The pancreatic structure will be mimicked to create a similar multi-compartment construct. Hence, overall this project will involve the development of a Bioartificial Pancreas using PHA based thermoplastics and hydrogels leading to a highly biocompatible insulin releasing medical device for the effective treatment of Type 1 diabetes.