Effects of enhanced O(2) 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 O(2) 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 hepatocytes that can be supported by a single O(2) source. Furthermore, the results illustrate that, compared with normal collagen, porous collagen extends the O(2) transport distance such that hepatocytes located at larger distances from the O(2) 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 our results demonstrate that enhancing O(2) transport through the extracellular matrix of densely packed BAL designs is one way to significantly improve the functionality of these devices.