In vitro diffusion in polyacrylamide embedded agarose microbeads

Abstract

¹²⁵I Sodium iodide, ¹²⁵I insulin, ¹²⁵I albumin, and ¹¹¹indium IGG were employed to investigate release from, and penetration of different sized molecules into agarose/polyacrylamide microcapsules. The microcapsules were formed by photopolymerization of an acrylamide solution round agarose beads. The indium-chelated antibody gave a particular low background count. The different release times were explained in terms of differences in diffusion coefficient. By retarding in vitro penetration of antibodies, these microcapsules could be of value for the encapsulation of living cells in bioartificial organs.