Bioengineering a cryogel-derived bioartificial liver using particle image velocimetry defined fluid dynamics.

Bioartificial Liver (BAL) devices are extracorporeal systems designed to support or recover hepatic function in patients with liver failure. The design of an effective BAL remains an open challenge since it requires a complex co-optimisation of cell colonisation, biomaterial scaffold and BAL fluid dynamics. Building on previous evidence of suitability as a blood perfusion device for detoxification, the current study investigated the use of RGD-containing p(HEMA)-alginate cryogels as BAL scaffolds. Cryogels were modified with alginate to reduce protein fouling and functionalised with an RGD-containing peptide to increase hepatocyte adhesion. A novel approach for characterisation of the internal flow through the porous matrix was developed by employing Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to visualise flow inside cryogels. Based on PIV results, which showed the laminar nature of flow inside cryogel pores, a multi-layered bioreactor composed of spaced cryogel discs was designed to improve blood/hepatocyte mass exchange. The stacked bioreactor showed a significantly higher production of albumin and urea compared to the column version, with improved cell colonisation and proliferation over time. The cell-free cryogel-based device was tested for safety in a bile-duct ligation model of liver cirrhosis. Thus, a stacked bioreactor prototype was developed based on a surface-engineered cryogel design with optimised fluid dynamics for BAL use.

Three-dimensional X-ray microcomputed tomography of carbonates and biofilm on operated cathode in single chamber microbial fuel cell.

Power output limitation is one of the main concerns that need to be addressed for full-scale applications of the microbial fuel cell technology. Fouling and biofilm growth on the cathode of single chamber microbial fuel cells (SCMFC) affects their performance in long-term operation with wastewater. In this study, the authors report the power output and cathode polarization curves of a membraneless SCMFC, fed with raw primary wastewater and sodium acetate for over 6 months. At the end of the experiment, the whole cathode surface is analyzed through X-ray microcomputed tomography (microCT), scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) to characterize the fouling layer and the biofilm. EDX shows the distribution of Ca, Na, K, P, S, and other elements on the two faces of the cathode. Na-carbonates and Ca-carbonates are predominant on the air (outer) side and the water (inner) side, respectively. The three-dimensional reconstruction by X-ray microCT shows biofilm spots unevenly distributed above the Ca-carbonate layer on the inner (water) side of the cathode. These results indicate that carbonates layer, rather than biofilm, might lower the oxygen reduction reaction rate at the cathode during long-term SCMFC operation.

X-ray computed microtomography for drop shape analysis and contact angle measurement.

The interaction between an atomized fluid and a solid surface has a great importance in many fields, both in adiabatic conditions and when heat transfer is involved. To investigate the behavior of many drops in contact with a surface, the first step is to study a single one of them and in that, surface wettability is key parameter. Wettability analyses are usually performed by contact angle measurement, in most cases using the sessile drop or captive bubble techniques. Such techniques require optical acquisition of a side view of the drop or bubble, with a series of drawbacks when conventional optics are used, in particular for not uniform, not planar or rough base surfaces. X-ray micro-computed tomography is therefore used to acquire a 3D scan of a drop gently deposited on a surface, with the aim to reconstruct the drop surface and to perform contact angle measurements on true cross-sections of the drop-surface couple. Comparison with contact angle measurements performed on conventional images is performed. The results evidence that the proposed technique is very promising for surface characterization and to get more accurate and detailed information about wettability characteristics.