In vitro evaluation method of bioartificial liver function: constant infusion test

Various types of bioartificial livers (BALs), which are extracorporeal medical devices incorporating living hepatocytes in cartridges, have been developed. However, it is difficult to compare metabolic functions among BAL types or to know what proportion of the normal liver functions could be replaced by a BAL, because there is not a well-established method for the quantitative evaluation of BAL functions. In our series of studies, we have proposed methods for performing drug-loading tests and procedures to analyze drug concentration changes for the quantitative evaluation and expression of BAL metabolic functions. In this study, constant infusion tests of lidocaine were performed on a BAL device developed in our laboratory, and lidocaine concentration changes in the perfusion medium were analyzed by using pharmacokinetic equations. The lidocaine clearance value of the BAL was precisely determined by a constant infusion test, demonstrating the usefulness of the constant infusion test for quantitative evaluation of BAL functions.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]