Therapeutic Applications of Cell Microencapsulation (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 670)

The advancement of science is ever more contingent upon the interaction of experts vast amount of scientific information being gathered every day that exceeds the ability of any one scientist to acquire. As an illustration of the frantic pace of scientific disc- more acute in the case of scientific fields at the interface of different and seemingly distant areas of study. Amidst these, the field of cell encapsulation brings together an array of diverse disciplines such as molecular biology and biopolymers, gene therapy and inorganic membranes, stem cell biology and physicochemistry, immunology and nanotechnology. Clearly, such range of topics is too broad for any individual scientist the state-of-the-art in the field of cell encapsulation. At the core of this technology, there is an interaction of physicochemical and biological elements forming three distinct layers of complexity. First, the chemistry of the biopolymer dictates the degree of protein adsorption, vascularization, tox- ity and biocompatibility of the microcapsules. Advances in biopolymer science are providing solutions to overcome existing challenges and to improve microcapsules as delivery vehicles. Second, the choice of cells, and more precisely the plethora of in determining the immune response elicited by the host to implanted microcapsules.

José Luis Pedraz has a PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Salamanca, Spain. He is professor of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology at the Faculty of Pharmacy in the Basque Country University. He is cofounder and director of the Pharmaceutical Development Unit of the Basque Country. His interest is focused in the development and evaluation of pharmaceutical dosage forms (microcapsules, micro- and nanoparticles) for the administration of gene, proteins, peptides, vaccines and cells. He has published over 200 scientific articles and edited several book chapters focused on cell microencapsulation.

Gorka Orive has a PhD in Pharmacy and is currently assistant professor of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of the Basque Country in Vitoria, Spain. He is director of research publications and scientific coordinator of the field of oral implantology for Biotechnology Institute (BTI, Vitoria, Spain). His interests include polymer-based cell therapy for long-term and controlled protein and growth factor delivery to different tissues including brain. He is also interested in the potential use of autologous platelets growth factors and fibrin scaffold for regenerative medicine. He has published more than 100 articles in national and international journals including Nature Medicine, Nature Reviews Neurosciences, Molecular Therapy, Biomaterials, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences among others and several book chapters focused on cell microencapsulation for therapeutic purposes and the use of plasma rich in growth factors in medicine.