Bioartificial livers (BAL): current technological aspects and future developments

Several attempts have been made to develop bioartificial support for the treatment of patients with acute or fulminant liver failure. In this paper, the authors have reviewed the technological aspects of the previously developed bioreactor devices like membrane-based devices, direct perfusion systems and entrapment-based columns. For each type, the technological requirements were first theoretically addressed and then confronted with the actual bioreactor configurations. A new bioreactor design has been proposed to enhance the performance of a bioartificial liver consisting of porcine hepatocytes entrapped in alginate beads. Finally, perspectives were drawn for the next developments of such promising bioartificial organs.