INFLUENCE OF CORONA SURFACE-TREATMENT ON THE PROPERTIES OF AN ARTIFICIAL MEMBRANE USED FOR LANGERHANS ISLETS ENCAPSULATION - PERMEABILITY AND BIOCOMPATIBILITY STUDIES

An artificial membrane (AN69 Hospal) suitable for pancreatic islets encapsulation was submitted to a physicochemical treatment (corona discharge) to improve its insulin permeability. This effect depends on the duration of the electrical discharge (expressed as the speed of a conveyor belt) and the distance between the electrodes and the membrane. Among the various treatments tested, the most efficient (distance of 5cm and a speed of 2 cm s(-1)) produced a three-fold increase in insulin diffusion. This improvement persisted after a protein-coating test which mimics in vivo conditions. At 1y after the peritoneal implantation, the corona-treated membrane remained biocompatible. Thus, corona discharge treatment may serve to optimize the properties of artificial membranes used for pancreatic islets encapsulation.