Patent ID: 8735143

Claim:
A hepatic lobule-like bioreactor, comprising: a closed-housing; a nanofiber scaffold enclosed within the housing; an intrahepatic fibrous vascular network where metabolism and material exchange take place, the intrahepatic fibrous vascular network provided with a liquid inlet port and a liquid outlet port; a bile capillary network, the bile capillary network provided with two or more inlet ports for biliary epithelial cells through which the biliary epithelial cells are distributed and cultivated in the bile capillary network to form a bile duct-like structure; first hepatic bile ducts; second hepatic bile ducts; a common bile duct connecting the first hepatic bile ducts to the second hepatic bile ducts such that bile secreted by bile capillaries in the bile capillary network is converged at the common bile duct via the first and the second hepatic bile ducts and eventually excreted out of a body, the common bile duct provided with an outlet port at one end; and collagen fibrous microchannels for hepatocytes surrounded by the bile capillary network, the collagen fibrous microchannels provided with two or more inlet ports for hepatocytes through which hepatocytes are distributed and cultivated in the collagen fibrous microchannels to form a hepatic plate-like structure; wherein the intrahepatic fibrous vascular network, the bile capillary network, the first hepatic bile ducts, the second hepatic bile ducts, the common bile duct, and the collagen fibrous microchannels for hepatocytes are distributed throughout the nanofiber scaffold, and wherein the inlet ports for biliary epithelial cells, the inlet ports for hepatocytes, the liquid inlet port, the liquid outlet port, and the outlet port at one end of the common bile duct extend through the housing.