Applications of hollow-fiber systems in bone, liver, and pancreatic tissue engineering.

BACKGROUND

Hollow-fiber bioreactors (HFBs) have emerged as promising platforms for tissue engineering because their capillary-like architecture can improve perfusion, molecular exchange, and three-dimensional cell organization. Their high surface-area-to-volume ratio and compartmentalized design help reduce the diffusion limitations commonly observed in static cultures, particularly in large or metabolically active tissue constructs.

METHODS

This review discusses recent advances in hollow-fiber-based systems for bone, liver, and pancreatic tissue engineering from experimental, computational, and materials-engineering perspectives. Particular attention is given to membrane composition, scaffold architecture, perfusion strategy, cell source, and organ-specific functional requirements.

RESULTS

The reviewed studies show that hollow-fiber systems support different biological functions depending on the target tissue. In bone tissue engineering, hollow and hollow-channel scaffolds mainly contribute to vascular-like transport, osteogenic differentiation, and structurally guided tissue formation. In bioartificial liver systems, stable semipermeable membranes support compartmentalized hepatocyte culture, controlled solute exchange, and partial metabolic function. In bioartificial pancreas systems, hollow-fiber and encapsulation-based membranes are primarily designed to balance immunoprotection with rapid glucose sensing and insulin release. Across these applications, material selection is a critical determinant of performance, as biodegradable, bioactive, or mechanically stable polymers are required depending on the intended organ-specific function.

CONCLUSION

Hollow-fiber-based platforms offer a versatile framework for engineering complex tissue constructs, but their clinical translation remains limited by challenges in scale-up, long-term cell functionality, oxygen supply, immune compatibility, and standardized evaluation. Future progress will require integrated optimization of membrane properties, dynamic perfusion, biomaterial design, and multicellular culture systems to improve the translational potential of hollow-fiber technologies in regenerative medicine.