For bioartificial organ devices containing cells packed at high density, establishing suitable nutrient transport pathways continues to be an important engineering challenge. This is particularly true with respect to the delivery of O2. The goal of this investigation is to explore the feasibility of using perfluorocarbons (PFCs) within plasma replacements (e.g., nutrient media) to evaluate their effectiveness in improving the functional performance of packed bed bioartificial devices. These inert, organic compounds are able to dissolve large volumes of oxygen, CO2, and other gases and have been used clinically for applications ranging from artificial blood to partial liquid ventilation. This exploratory application seeks to test the hypothesis that improving the O2 carrying capacity of nutrient flow, through the use of PFCs, improves the functional performance of packed-bed hepatic devices by increasing the number of cells exposed to favorable O2 conditions. Through the aims of this project, novel in vitro test systems are designed, fabricated, and used to determine the relationship between the level of O2 supplied and the efficiency in which it is used by the cells when RFC-supplemented media is used as the O2 source. The O2 solubility of the supply is then adjusted in order to minimize the regions of the cellular space exposed to adverse (i.e., hypoxic, hyperoxic) O2 levels. Finally, the optimized conditions are selectively tested in a dynamic flow device consisting of densely packed cell layers. Hence the proposed work has the potential to alterthe future design and usage of bioreactor devices by making it feasible to support larger numbers of densely packed cells to achieve better functional performance. ? ? ? ?
| Shi, Gengbei; Coger, Robin N (2013) Use of perfluorocarbons to enhance the performance of perfused three-dimensional hepatic cultures. Biotechnol Prog 29:718-26 |
