Research

Biomaterials Development

Topic 1. Liver tissue patches for the treatment of liver

diseases

Topic 2. Nanomedicine for liver tissue regeneration

Topic 3. Self-healing hydrogels for liver tissue 

engineering

Topic 4. Injectable hydrogels for the treatment of liver

diseases

Topic 5. Nanoparticle spray systems for liver tissue 

engineering

Organ-on-a-Chip

Topic 6. Development of a liver disease modeling 

platform

Topic 7. Development of hepatoactive materials with 

hepatoprotective effects

Previous studies in our laboratory have focused on biomaterials, disease model development, and therapeutic platform design. These works include the development of a three-dimensional porous liver scaffold for bio-artificial liver applications, the evaluation of targeted photodynamic therapy for liver cancer cells, and the investigation of a hydrogen-oxygen generator for treating cigarette smoke-induced COPD in animal models. 

Together, these studies demonstrate our research foundation in material design, cellular and animal experiments, and functional biomedical platform development, providing a basis for further applications in tissue engineering, disease modeling, and organ-on-a-chip systems. 

Our laboratory focuses on the development of functional liver patches based on decellularized liver matrix (DLM) combined with heparin-mediated growth factor immobilization. This platform is designed to promote liver repair and regeneration by providing a biomimetic microenvironment for damaged hepatic tissues. 

Our studies demonstrated that HGF/heparin-DLM patches improved the viability and functional recovery of injured hepatocytes, reduced cytotoxicity, and enhanced albumin secretion. In animal models, these liver patches have been further applied to liver injury, liver fibrosis, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, showing potential in reducing inflammation, improving liver function markers, and promoting tissue repair. This platform is also being extended toward liver cancer-related studies, aiming to develop a multifunctional strategy for liver regeneration and disease treatment. 

Our laboratory also develops nanomedicine-based platforms for liver regeneration and metabolic liver disease treatment. These studies include modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) for enhancing hepatocyte proliferation and hepatic function, as well as decellularized liver matrix-derived nanocarriers for liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy and the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. 

The results suggest that these nanomaterials can improve liver function markers, promote hepatic tissue repair, and regulate lipid metabolism in MASLD/MASH models, demonstrating their potential as therapeutic platforms for liver-related diseases. 

Our laboratory develops self-healing hydrogel-based platforms for the treatment of liver fibrosis and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. By integrating decellularized liver matrix, hepatocyte spheroids, endothelial cell co-culture systems, and bioactive components such as tannic acid, this platform provides a biomimetic microenvironment for hepatic tissue repair. The hydrogel exhibits rapid gelation, self-healing behavior, and mechanical properties similar to native liver tissue, supporting hepatocyte survival and functional recovery. 

Our results showed that this system enhanced albumin secretion, reduced cytotoxicity, improved liver function markers, decreased fibrotic progression, and regulated lipid metabolism in disease models. These findings suggest that self-healing hydrogels have strong potential as regenerative biomaterials for liver disease treatment. 

Our laboratory develops injectable hydrogel platforms based on decellularized liver matrix for liver injury repair and functional recovery. By combining gelatin-HPA with DLM, the material can form an enzymatically crosslinked hydrogel with injectability and re-gelation properties, making it suitable for localized liver therapy and regenerative applications. Our results showed that Glt-HPA-DLM hydrogel reduced cytotoxicity in injured hepatocytes and promoted the recovery of hepatic functions, including albumin secretion and urea synthesis. 

In animal studies, this platform demonstrated distribution within liver tissue and improved liver function markers while reducing inflammatory responses in liver fibrosis models. These findings suggest its potential as an injectable biomaterial for liver injury repair and liver regeneration. 

Our laboratory develops a TA-DLM nanospray based on tannic acid and decellularized liver matrix as a multifunctional platform for localized therapy and tissue repair. By integrating the tissue-specific microenvironment of DLM with the bioactive properties of tannic acid, this nanospray shows potential for wound healing, cell behavior regulation, and tissue regeneration. 

Our results suggest that TA-DLM nanospray can suppress liver cancer cell proliferation and viability while promoting normal hepatocyte migration. This platform may be further applied to post-hepatectomy liver regeneration, prevention of postoperative adhesions, and therapeutic or disease modeling applications for metabolic liver diseases. 

Our laboratory develops various liver-on-a-chip microfluidic platforms to establish in vitro models that better mimic the physiological microenvironment of the liver. These studies include chip-based systems for improving hepatocyte viability and hepatic function, evaluating the effects of drugs and their metabolites on liver cancer cells, and developing detachable and reusable platforms for hepatocyte culture. Through microfluidic design, shear stress regulation, image analysis, and AI-assisted prediction, these platforms further enhance long-term hepatocyte culture and functional evaluation. Recent studies also integrate hepatocyte spheroids with self-organizing microvascular networks to establish vascularized liver-on-a-chip models, providing a more physiologically relevant microenvironment for liver function analysis, drug testing, and disease model development. 

Our laboratory also investigates hepatoprotective and hepatocurative applications of natural hepatoactive substances. These studies focus on bioactive compounds such as tannic acid, gallic acid, and evening primrose oil to evaluate their protective and therapeutic effects on injured hepatocytes and acute liver failure models. Our results showed that tannic acid enhanced albumin secretion and hepatocyte proliferation, reduced oxidative stress, and improved liver histology and biochemical markers in APAP-induced liver injury models. These findings suggest that natural hepatoactive substances may serve as promising candidates for liver protection, injury recovery, and supportive therapeutic strategies.