Co-encapsulation of bFGF-loaded microspheres and hepatocytes in microbeads for prolonging hepatic pre-transplantation

Abstract

Hepatocyte encapsulation serves as an alternative solution for prolonging the hepatic pre-transplantation period in acute liver disease patients. The basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was introduced and optimized to enhance hepatocyte viability and regeneration at 1 ng/ml concentrations. The bFGF was preserved with double-emulsion PLGA microspheres to release over a period of time sustainably. Different techniques were used to calculate the percentages of loading content, encapsulation efficiency, and release profile. In addition, the bFGF-loaded microspheres were measured to be 1.8226 ± 0.7176 μm in size and illustrated smooth surface morphology. Herein, the immortalized hepatocyte-like cell line (imHC) and bFGF-loaded PLGA microspheres were encapsulated inside the alginate microbeads using the electrostatic extrusion method. Under the scanning electron microscope, the bead morphology was observed to have a smooth surface, and the estimated size was 758 ± 32.9 μm. Moreover, the confocal images showed the evenly distributed cells inside the microbeads in a 3D structure. Over a 14-day observation, the microsphere exhibited significant effects on imHC viability. Therefore, it can be concluded that the co-encapsulation of bFGF-loaded microspheres and imHCs inside alginate microbeads (bFGF-HB) has presented itself as a promising approach to enhance the cell survivability of encapsulated cells.