Moving forward, more work is needed to systematically evaluate the life cycle implications of different material choices or technological advancements. Knowledge and data from experiments should be consolidated to establish quantitative connections among encapsulant material properties (biocompatibility, durability, degradability, and density, etc.) and empirically outline the feasible region of key technological parameters (e.g., bead lifetime, diffusivity, encapsulation capacity). Rigorous calibration and validation of the multi-scale process model with experimental data will also enable better performance prediction and more specific recommendations for optimal system design.