Abstract：
Sealing wet porous membranes is a major challenge when fabricating cell encapsulation devices. Herein, we report the development of an Autoclavable Transparent Thermal Cutter (ATTC) for reliably sealing wet nanofibrous membranes. Notably, the ATTC is autoclavable and transparent, thus enabling in situ visualization of the sealing process in a sterile environment and ensuring an appropriate seal. In addition, the ATTC could generate smooth, arbitrary-shaped sealing ends with excellent mechanical properties when sealing PA6, PVDF, and TPU nanofibrous tubes and PP microporous membranes. Importantly, the ATTC could reliably seal wet nanofibrous tubes, which can shoulder a burst pressure up to 313.2 ± 19.3 kPa without bursting at the sealing ends. Furthermore, the ATTC sealing process is highly compatible with the fabrication of cell encapsulation devices, as verified by viability, proliferation, cell escape, and cell function tests. We believe that the ATTC could be used to reliably seal cell encapsulation devices with minimal side effects.
摘要：
密封湿多孔膜是制造细胞包封装置时的主要挑战。在这里，我们报道了用于可靠密封湿纳米纤维膜的可高压灭菌的透明热切割机(ATTC)的开发。值得注意的是,ATTC是可高压灭菌和透明的，从而能够在无菌环境中原位可视化密封过程并确保适当的密封。此外,ATTC可以产生平滑，任意形状的密封端具有优异的机械性能，当密封PA6，PVDF，和TPU纳米纤维管和PP微孔膜。重要的是,ATTC可以可靠地密封湿纳米纤维管，可承受高达313.2±19.3kPa的爆裂压力,密封端不会爆裂。此外，ATTC密封工艺与细胞包封装置的制造高度兼容，经可行性验证，扩散,细胞逃逸,和细胞功能测试。我们相信ATTC可用于可靠地密封细胞包封装置,副作用最小。
