Polymeric membranes for hybrid liver support devices: The effect of membrane surface wettability on hepatocyte viability and functions

Extracorporeal therapies based on membrane hybrid liver support devices using primary hepatocytes are an interesting approach to the treatment of acute hepatic failure. In such devices, semipermeable polymeric membranes are effectively used as immunoselective barriers between a patient's blood and the xenocytes in order to prevent the immune rejection of the graft. The membranes may act also as the substratum for cell adhesion, thus favouring the viability and functions of anchorage-dependent cells such as the hepatocytes. Membrane cytocompatibility is expected to depend on the surface properties of the polymer such as its morphology and its physico-chemical properties. In this paper, we report our investigation on the effect of the surface wettability of membranes on hepatocyte viability and functions. Polypropylene microporous membranes were modified to increase their surface wettability and were used as substrata for rat hepatocyte adhesion culture. Isolated hepatocytes were also cultured on collagen as a reference substratum. Hepatocyte viability generally improved as the cells were cultured on more wettable membranes. In agreement with the viability data, the increasing wettability of the membrane surface also improved some metabolic functions.