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Bifunctional polyethersulfone hollow fiber with a porous, single-layer skin for use as a bioartificial liver bioreactor

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Abstract

A bioartificial liver bioreactor requires a bifunctional hollow fiber that is hemocompatible on one side and cytocompatible on the other side. In this study, we developed a single-layer skin polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber with smooth inner surface and rough/porous outer surface for an artificial liver bioreactor. The hemocompatibility of the inner surface was evaluated by hemolysis, complement activation and clotting time. The cytocompatibility of the outer surface with HepG2 cells was examined by morphology, proliferation and liver-specific functions. The inner surface of the PES hollow fiber exhibited lower hemolysis and complement activation than cellulose acetate (CA) hollow fiber and a prolonged blood coagulation time. HepG2 cells readily adhered to the outer surfaces of the PES hollow fibers, and proliferated to form multicellular aggregates with time. Furthermore, HepG2 cells cultured on the outer surface of the PES hollow fiber exhibited higher proliferation ability and liver-specific functions than those grown on the CA hollow fiber. These results suggest that the single-layer skin PES hollow fiber is a bifunctional hollow fiber with good hemocompatibility on the inner side and cytocompatibility on the outer side. Thus, porous and single-layer skin PES hollow fibers may have potential as materials for an artificial liver bioreactor.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30800237, 31076328 and 30470458). We gratefully acknowledge Deyuan Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd. for preparing the hollow fibers. We thank all members of our laboratory for sharing reagents and advice. We thank American Journal Experts for editorial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Infectious Diseases, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Shichang Zhang & Yingjie Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Department 4, Institute of Surgery Research, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400042, China

    Shichang Zhang, Mingliang Ren, Bo Zhang & Zhengguo Wang

  3. Department of Internal Medicine 3, The Northern Region of No. 401 Hospital, Qingdao, 266100, Shandong, China

    Tao Liu

  4. Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Li Chen

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  1. Shichang Zhang
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Correspondence to Yingjie Wang.

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Zhang, S., Liu, T., Chen, L. et al. Bifunctional polyethersulfone hollow fiber with a porous, single-layer skin for use as a bioartificial liver bioreactor. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 23, 2001–2011 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-012-4673-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-012-4673-8

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