Artificial organs liver

Muraca, M., Vilei, M.T., Zanusso, G.E., Ferraresso, C., Boninsegna, S., Dal Monte, R., Carraro, P. and Carturan, G. (2002) Si02 entrapment of animal cells Liver-specific metabolic activities in silica-overlaid hepatocytes. Artificial Organs, 26, 664—669. 

Funatsu, K., Ijima, H, et al. Hybrid artificial liver using hepatocytes organoid culture. Artificial Organ 25(3) 194-200, 2001. 

This chapter will review current activities and proposed research related to the development of artificial organs and organ-assist devices. While we will focus on the human liver, the discussion is applicable to other organs. The pancreas and the endocrine functions of the kidney follow the same basic path — the culturing of cells on a scaffold. The cells, of course, must function as they do in a natural uncompromised slate while the scaffold provides a permanent or temporary template on which the cells attach and proliferate. 

DESIGN OF IDEAL SCAFFOLD FOR EXTRACORPOREAL BIOARTIFICIAL LIVER (BAL) OR IMPLANTABLE ARTIFICIAL ORGAN... 

As liver performs multiple and complex functions, artificial organ or bioartifidal organ exploiting a synthetic cartridge to host biological components such as cells (hepatocytes in the case of a bioartificial liver) have been investigated. Among all of these potentialities, we only focus here on purely artificial systems. Membrane-based bioartificial livers (BAL) will not be described here, but could be found in other reviews [22-25] and in another chapter in the present book. 

Five- to 21-day-old white rats were used. The animals were placed into groups according to the amount of iron they had received in iron supplemented cow s milk for either one ("non-pretreated") or four days ("pretreated"). Iron doses were from 52 to 1000 ug Fe/ml milk. Radioisotopes (Mn-54 or Fe-59) were always administered by the artificial "drop-by-drop" feeding procedure (99). The radioactivity was determined in selected organs (liver, kidney, spleen, brain, femure, intestinal tract, stomach) in addition to measurements of the whole body and carcass. 

Heparin, an anticoagulant which is widely used for blood flowing through artificial organs, is a mucopolysaccharide that is obtained from the liver or lung of animals. It is also possible to prevent blood clotting in vitro by the addition of oxalic acid or citric acid these combine with the Ca2 + ions that are required in clotting... 

If a technique is developed to readily and securely cover a polymer surface with a layer of adequate cells, hybrid-type artificial organs for use in vascular reconstruction and extracorporeal liver support, for example, may be possible. For cell-culture substrates several polymer surfaces are already available which distinctly favor cell covering. Cationic surfaces or immobilization of cell-adhesive proteins such as fibronectin and collagen have been utilized in these cases. 

Below, we will refer to two typical cases of MBR application in artificial organ engineering the bioartificial kidney and bioartifidal liver. It should be noted that the clinical impact of the artifidal kidney and liver is quite different. The artificial kidney, in its hollow-fiber modules form, is the most employed hemopurification device. The therapy for chronic renal failure concerns hundreds of thousands of patients all over the dvilized world, making the artificial kidney one of the most diffused biomedical devices on... 

One day, it may be possible to print out artificial organs using a three-dimensional printer. Layer by layer, cells would be deposited onto a glass slide, building up specialized tissues that could be used to replace damaged kidneys, livers, and other organs. 

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