Nylon filters, a new technique for the pancreas islet isolation in a canine research model, a technical standardization

Pancreas islet transplantation is a developing field for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Currently the isolation technique is a complex process that still has some problems to overcome. Two of the problems we addressed were the high cost of the procedure and the cellular toxicity derived from Ficoll use during purification of pancreatic islets of Langerhans during the isolation procedure. We focused our efforts in reducing both the cost of the procedure and cellular injury by using nylon filters as an alternative to Ficoll gradient purification and improving the outcome of islet isolation in a large animal model.