Effects of Enhanced O2 Transport on Hepatocytes Packed within a Bioartificial Liver Device

The functional performance of an extracorporeal bioartificial liver (BAL) device requires that suitable nutrient pathways exist to support the hepatocytes packed within it. Consequently the limited transport distance of the nutrient oxygen is a limiting factor in the scale-up of many BAL designs. In this study the porosity of a collagen extracellular matrix is increased to evaluate how enhanced O2 transport alters the viability and functional performance of gel-entrapped hepatocytes packed within a BAL. Our results indicate that the porous collagen increases the number of viable hepatoctyes that can be supported by a single O2 source. Furthermore, the results illustrate that, compared with normal collagen, porous collagen extends the O2 transport distance such that hepatocytes located at larger distances from the O2 source of the BAL can be supported. Finally, the function results reveal that hepatocytes within the porous collagen experience significantly improved function over the control cultures. Hence...