Background: Bioartificial liver support systems are becoming an effective therapy for hepatic failure. Bioreactors, as key devices in these systems, can provide a favorable growth and metabolic environment, mass exchange, and immunological isolation as a platform. Currently, stagnancy in bioreactor research is the main factor restricting the development of bioartificial liver support systems.
Data sources: A PubMed database search of English-language literature was performed to identify relevant articles using the keywords "bioreactor", "bioartificial liver", "hepatocyte", and "liver failure". More than 40 articles related to the bioreactors of bioartificial livers were reviewed.
Results: Some progress has been made in the improvement of structures, functions, and modified macromolecular materials related to bioreactors in recent years. The current data on the improvement of bioreactor configurations for bioartificial livers or on the potential of the use of certain scaffold materials in bioreactors, combined with the clinical efficacy and safety evaluation of cultured hepatocytes in vitro, indicate that the AMC (Academic Medical Center) BAL bioreactor and MELS (modular extracorporeal liver support) BAL bioreactor system can partly replace the synthetic and metabolic functions of the liver in phase I clinical studies. In addition, it has been indicated that the microfluidic PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) bioreactor, or SlideBioreactor, and the microfabricated grooved bioreactor are appropriate for hepatocyte culture, which is also promising for bioartificial livers. Similarly, modified scaffolds can promote the adhesion, growth, and function of hepatocytes, and provide reliable materials for bioreactors.
Conclusions: Bioreactors, as key devices in bioartificial livers, play an important role in the therapy for liver failure both now and in the future. Bioreactor configurations are indispensable for the development of bioartificial livers used for liver failure, just as the modified scaffold materials available for bioreactors are favorable to the construction of effective bioartificial livers.