CELL SEEDING IN POROUS TRANSPLANTATION DEVICES

Porous laminated discs of 1.35 cm diameter and thickness of 0.5 cm fashioned from biodegradable polymers were used as scaffolds for the transplantation of isolated cell populations. The distribution of cells seeded in these devices via injection was modelled with a system of dyed polymeric microparticles. Optimization of parameters related to device design and surgical injection conditions was carried out to maximize the device volume effectively employed in cell transplantation. The area of distribution on the top surface of each device was determined by image analysis techniques and used as a measure of the spatial distribution of injected particles. For poly(L-lactic acid) devices of porosity of 0.83 and median pore diameter of 166 mum seeded with 6 mum beads under standard injection conditions, the average surface area of distribution was 44.45% (+/-3.36%). The device pore size was found to be a crucial determinant of particle distribution, whilst particle size in the range of 1-10 mum was not found to be important for the devices tested. Application of these results to the seeding of hepatocyte suspensions was made.