| Pancreatic islet cells are obtained from multiorgan donors after separation from the tissue surrounding the gland |
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•The Wirsung duct is cannulated to allow injection of a solution containing collagenase in order to relax the organ and enable the achievement of an effective enzyme activity during the dissociation
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•The gland is then divided into several parts and transferred to the dissociation chamber, consisting of a lower portion, where the pancreas is inserted together with metal balls, and an upper portion consisting of an inverted funnel, separated by a porous metal filter with a specific porosity
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•The digestion process is the combination of the enzymatic effect (obtained by increasing the temperature) and mechanical (generated by the action of the ball during the stirring of the room) that results in the release of fragments of the pancreas that can pass through the filter metal due to the unidirectional flow of liquid dissociation
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•The digested pancreas is, then, purified by using different density gradients (continuous and discontinuous) in order to enrich the endocrine component
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•The islets that make up only 1% of pancreatic tissue can be viewed using a dye that gives it a distinctive red color
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• After the purification enriched fractions containing levels of purity can be obtained
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