Enhanced Oxygen Delivery to Liver Tissue Equivalent by Perfluorocarbon Available to Purchase

Bioartificial Liver Devices (BALs) have the potential to serve as a bridge strategy for patients awaiting liver transplants, and also show promise as drug testing platforms for the pharmaceutical industry [1]. Yet the limitations of O₂ transport through the 3D tissue structures of current designs continue to present engineering challenges. In previous work our group successfully improved O₂ availability for hepatocytes by introducing micropathways within the BAL’s cellular space [3–5]. The current study investigates the benefits of increasing O₂ availability of the flow medium via perfluorocarbons (PFCs). PFCs were chosen since they have demonstrated effectiveness in increasing the overall oxygen solubility of their carrier liquids, e.g., artificial blood [2]. The study seeks to clarify the effects of PFCs on hepatocyte viability and functional performance under various culture conditions.