TECHNIQUES FOR HISTOLOGICAL STUDIES OF HYBRID ARTIFICIAL ORGANS

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights techniques for histological studies of hybrid artificial organs. Implantable hybrid artificial organs incorporate characteristics of both prostheses and transplants. Specialized living cells are obtained from a donor animal and cultured in vitro in prosthetic devices. The chapter describes a cell culture chamber that has been developed to facilitate both direct observation of the cell culture while it is active and intact removal for histologic study after fixation. A microporous polyacrylic tube was used for the membrane, Amicon XM-50, which has a smooth luminal surface laced with mocropores and a thin inner membrane wall surrounded by a labyrinthine honeycomb that provides most of the wall thickness of the tube. To avoid kinking yet keep the compartments small, this tubing was coiled in a spiral in a shallow cup with a central solid button. Ports were drilled through the walls to allow tube entry and exit, and to allow seeding and perfusion of the space around the tubing. The whole assembly has a size and shape like that of a poker chip, except for the protruding ports. When the biological experiment with the cell culture is completed, the blood path of the device is flushed first with saline and then with a 10% formalin solution for a period longs enough to allow effective diffusion into the cell-bearing compartment.