The use of Immunomagnetic Separation for Secondary Purification of Pancreatic Islets

Abstract

Current human islet purification methods utilise differences in buoyant-density to purify islets from non-endocrine tissue. Using continuous density gradients, yields of approximately 250,000 islets per pancreas can be routinely obtained. However, with accepted protocols for human pancreatic islet transplantation requiring the intraportal infusion of 8–10,000 islets per recipient kg, such yields are clearly inadequate to allow successful transplantation on a one donor to one recipient basis, a central goal for researchers if islet transplantation is to become clinical reality.