Liver Tumor Cells Grown on Hollow Fiber Capillaries: A Prototype Liver Assist Device

Abstract

Membranes in the form of artificial capillaries or hollow fibers were first conceived as a convenient membrane element for use in differential permeability separators (1) where they have been applied in water desalination and various other industrial separation processes. They were first applied in a biological role as an artificial kidney or dialyzer (2) and as an oxygenator (3). Several years later, their potential as a supporting capillary matrix for the growth of cells in-vitro was realized and apparatus for the growth of cells on artificial capillaries by circumfusion culture was developed. A variety of cell types have been cultured to produce insulin (4), growth hormone (5), or chorionic gonadotrophs (6) and we have grown cells of liver origin able to take up from the medium and detoxify the bile pigment bilirubin (7) (8). With cells grown on the opposite side of the membrane from circulating nutrient fluid, it was possible to select membrane permeability so that cells and high molecular weight molecules could not traverse the membrane.