[0026] This simple (easy-handling and low cost technology), rapid, eco-friendly and efficient method is advantageous, because it is neither toxic for the environment nor for the entrapped cells which can be kept alive and divide for a long time (up to several months) in the beads. The beads carry a porous structure throughout their entire volume, allowing for an excellent diffusion of nutrients and metabolites to and from the cells within the beads.
This method allows the production of entrapped cells into transparent, robust and spherical beads that will improve the life span and biological activities of these cells and allow their use in numerous applications. Such applications include their incorporation into biosensors, biofuel cells or (photo)bioreactors for the production at high yields (e.g., green chemistry using CO2 as reactant and light radiation as source of energy) of molecules of interest, such as pharmaceutical molecules (including (monoclonal) antibodies or portion(s) thereof (or similar products, such as nanobodies or alphabodies)), nutraceuticals or cosmetic molecules such as carotenoids (beta-carotene), vitamins, hormones or enzymes, all of which can easily be recovered from the external medium without requiring the killing of the cells.
These living cells entrapped into the beads can be also used for the delivery of active compounds (like insulin, a drug or a pro-drug, (monoclonal) antibodies or portion(s) thereof (or similar products, such as nanobodies or alphabodies)) into living organs of animals, including the human body.
The beads according to the invention having specific characteristics (controlled diameter and pore size) can also be used as such (without any entrapped elements or cells) in purification and/or separation devices and methods, for instance in chromatographic columns.