A non-adhesive hybrid scaffold from gelatin and gum Arabic as packed bed matrix for hepatocyte perfusion culture

Development of liver support systems has become one of the most investigated areas for the last 50 years because of the shortage of donor organs for orthotopic liver transplantations. Bioartificial liver (BAL) device is one of the alternatives for liver failure which provides a curing method and support patients to recover from certain liver failure diseases. The biological compartment of BAL is called the bioreactor where functionally active hepatocytes are maintained to support the liver specific functions. We have developed a packed bed bioreactor with a cytocompatible, polysaccharide–protein hybrid scaffold. The scaffold prepared from gelatin and gum Arabic acts as a packed bed matrix for hepatocyte culture. Quantitative evaluation of the hepatocytes cultured using packed bed bioreactor demonstrated that cells maintained liver specific functions like albumin and urea synthesis for seven days. These results indicated that the system can be scaled up to form the biological component of a bioartificial liver.