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Islet transplantation is a promising therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), but its clinical application is limited by host immune rejection and insufficient mass transfer. Biomaterial-assisted strategies hold the potential to address these challenges by providing an immune-isolated microenvironment and facilitating nutrient and oxygen supplementation. Therefore, this review outlines the primary bottlenecks in islet transplantation and then discusses current biomaterial engineering approaches to overcome them. Specifically, we summarize advanced encapsulation techniques utilizing diverse biomaterials for immune isolation and highlight tailored material designs aimed at mitigating drawbacks like foreign body reactions and increased oxygen diffusion distances. Furthermore, biomaterial-based methods to accelerate mass transfer and induce vascularization for enhancing islet survival are discussed. Finally, future development trends in biomaterials for islet encapsulation and transplantation are prospected. This review is expected to provide valuable insights into biomaterial design strategies, inspiring innovative solutions for treating T1DM through improved islet encapsulation and transplantation.
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Li et al. (2026) studied this question.
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