In Situ Self-Assembling Liver Spheroids with Synthetic Nanoscaffolds for Preclinical Drug Screening Applications

The study investigates the use of self-assembling liver spheroids with poly(caprolactone) (PCL) nanoscaffolds as a preclinical drug screening tool. The research demonstrates that PCL-based nanoscaffolds enhance spheroid viability and liver-specific biofunctionality, including the secretion of albumin and urea. The liver spheroids, with sizes under 350 μm, showed improved drug-metabolizing enzyme activity and increased sensitivity to acetaminophen compared to traditional two-dimensional cultures and scaffold-free spheroids. These findings suggest that PCL nanoscaffold-based liver spheroids could serve as an effective in vitro model for studying drug-induced hepatotoxicity and drug screening.