CHAPTER 6: Smart Biomaterials for Cell Encapsulation

Numerous smart materials for cell encapsulation have been developed due to their attractive features, such as stimuli response and potential biocompatibility. These features could help avoid immune reactions between encapsulated cells and the host, maintain cell viability, control the growth and direct cellular differentiation. Based on these advantages, cell encapsulation is a promising technology applied in the biomedical area, including drug delivery and multiple therapeutic applications. Various smart biomaterials have been used in cell encapsulation in recent years, and it’s difficult to categorize them simply by their compositions or formulations. In this chapter, we describe the recent advances of smart biomaterials by classifying them by their various functions, including mimicking the native microenvironment, overcoming suffocation, promoting vascularization, overcoming foreign body reactions, directing cell phenotypes, being shape memorable and easily injectable. In particular, we discuss their potential cell encapsulation applications.