Browsing by Author "Raj, RGS"

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    A non-adhesive hybrid scaffold from gelatin and gum Arabic as packed bed matrix for hepatocyte perfusion culture
    (MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING C-MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, 2015) Sarika, PR; Viha, CVS; Raj, RGS; Nirmala, RJ; Kumar, PRA
    Development of liver support systems has become one of the most investigated areas for the last 50 years because of the shortage of donor organs for orthotopic liver transplantations. Bioartificial liver (BAL) device is one of the alternatives for liver failure which provides a curing method and support patients to recover from certain liver failure diseases. The biological compartment of BAL is called the bioreactor where functionally active hepatocytes are maintained to support the liver specific functions. We have developed a packed bed bioreactor with a cytocompatible, polysaccharide protein hybrid scaffold. The scaffold prepared from gelatin and gum Arabic acts as a packed bed matrix for hepatocyte culture. Quantitative evaluation of the hepatocytes cultured using packed bed bioreactor demonstrated that cells maintained liver specific functions like albumin and urea synthesis for seven days. These results indicated that the system can be scaled up to form the biological component of a bioartificial liver. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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    Evaluation of Polypropylene Hollow-Fiber Prototype Bioreactor for Bioartificial Liver
    (TISSUE ENGINEERING PART A, 2013) Palakkan, AA; Raj, DK; Rojan, J; Raj, RGS; Kumar, PRA; Muraleedharan, CV; Kumary, TV
    Hepatocytes in high density are a requisite for the functional performance of complex devices such as bioartificial liver (BAL). In addition to high cell number, efficient mass transfer is also a key parameter in such devices. High-density culture of cells and efficient mass transfer can be achieved in BAL with hollow-fiber-based bioreactors. Even though different types of hollow fibers have been tried in a BAL, prospects of using polypropylene hollow fibers are not well evaluated. In this study, a prototype of bioreactor with polypropylene hollow fibers was fabricated and evaluated for cytotoxicity and hepatocyte function. High density of HepG2/adult hepatocyte cultures was used to evaluate polypropylene hollow fiber to support the biochemical activities (albumin and urea production), ammonia detoxification, and gene expression and to provide effective oxygenation. The results confirmed that a polypropylene hollow-fiber prototype bioreactor is able to provide efficient oxygenation and supported hepatocyte functions in a high-density culture.