# Engineering an Islet Thread from zwitterionically modified alginates for type 1 diabetes

> **NIH NIH R01** · CORNELL UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $389,309

## Abstract

The objective of this project is to develop an advanced, clinically applicable islet/stem cell
encapsulation system for type 1 diabetes (T1D). Cell encapsulation and transplantation holds
enormous potential to treat T1D. Islets of allo or xeno origin or stem cell-derived beta cells are
encapsulated in a material or device that protects the cells from host immune rejection while
allowing facile mass transfer to maintain their survival and function. Numerous research groups
worldwide have made important progress, but clinical application of cell encapsulation has
remained elusive, due in a large part to the lack of a translatable encapsulation system that
meets the following basic but critical clinical needs: (1) It must be easy to handle, use and
transplant so that the encapsulation causes no harm to cells and the transplantation is minimally
invasive; (2) It must have sufficient biocompatibility (i.e. minimal or no formation of fibrosis),
robust mechanical stability and facile mass transfer (e.g. large surface area, short diffusion
distance and controllable permselectivity) so that the transplant can function for a long time, at
least several months; (3) It must be convenient to retrieve so that it can be removed or replaced
in the event of transplant failure or medical complications; (4) It must be scalable so that it can
deliver sufficient cell mass to produce a therapeutic effect. To meet these needs, we propose to
develop a novel, clinically translatable, TRAFFIC (Thread-Reinforced Alginate Fiber For Islet
enCapsulation) system from our newly developed, non-fibrotic zwitterionic-alginates for T1D
treatment. The critical innovations include both the structure design (i.e. incorporation a thin but
tough polymer thread into the center of a hydrogel fiber along its axis) and the hydrogel
chemistry (i.e. zwitterionically modified alginates). The inner polymer thread imparts mechanical
robustness and enables easy handling, implantation and retrieval, while the outer zwitterionic-
alginate hydrogel fiber provides necessary biocompatibility and facile mass transfer. We aim to
achieve long-term (>6 months) cures of diabetic mice using both rat islets and stem cell-derived
beta cells by optimizing the biocompatibility and mass transfer properties of the device. We will
also scale up the device and demonstrate its retrievability and functionality in dogs. The
anticipated outcome of this proposed research will be the development of a new cell
encapsulation system that is translatable for T1D patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10142450
- **Project number:** 5R01DK105967-04
- **Recipient organization:** CORNELL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Minglin Ma
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $389,309
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10142450

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10142450, Engineering an Islet Thread from zwitterionically modified alginates for type 1 diabetes (5R01DK105967-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10142450. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*