**5. Conclusion**

In this chapter, we have covered the variety of options used to protect transplanted islets physically against both transplant rejection and autoimmune assault on β-cells. The technologies covered include the variety of encapsulation devices, materials, and addition of supportive materials to improve islet function and survivability.

A key step toward translating biomaterial encapsulation of islets toward clinical trial would be to develop a standard of quality that has to be met by the raw encapsulation material, the islets, and the encapsulation process. This will eventually lead to a process that can be scaled up and to adhere to GMP quality requirements. The current variability of results in the literature on encapsulated islet transplants as T1DM treatment can likely be explained by the lack of such standard, making it impossible to reliably compare multiple encapsulation technologies.

The results in the literature on the encapsulation of islets for the treatment of T1DM showed that it is a promising technology that can revolutionize the treatment paradigm for diabetics. Although significant advances have occurred, there are several obstacles that must be addressed before achieving widespread use of this technology.
