Development of a novel bioartificial liver device for the treatment of patients with liver failure (360G-Wellcome-096861_Z_11_A)

In the UK, over 16,000 patients a year die of liver failure. Their livers have the capacity to repair and regenerate, but do not have time to do so. A device temporarily replacing liver function would save lives and reduce the necessity for liver transplantation worldwide. Dr Clare Selden and her team at UCL have developed a prototype 'bio-artificial liver' (BAL) to address this unmet need. Its key element comprises functioning liver cells in an external bioreactor. Plasma from a patient with liver failure will be passed through the bioreactor, contacting the alginate encapsulated liver cells, so that the cells replace those functions that the sick liver cannot perform. The machine will buy time for a patient's liver to improve or, if damage to the liver is irreversible, may buy time until liver transplantation can be arranged. The technology combines alginate encapsulation of a human liver cell line and subsequent culture of the encapsulated cells in a fluidised bed bioreactor - providing a convenient, manipulatable biomass in a form which maximises mass transfer between cells and perfusing plasma. The team have Translation Award funding to complete the design, specification, performance characterisation and manufacture of this fully biocompatible BAL.