Premium
Location of scaffolds in bioreactors modulates the hydrodynamic environment experienced by engineered tissues
Author(s) -
Bilgen Bahar,
Barabino Gilda A.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.21385
Subject(s) - bioreactor , computational fluid dynamics , shear stress , tissue engineering , particle image velocimetry , fluid dynamics , materials science , mechanics , biomedical engineering , biological system , biophysics , chemistry , turbulence , physics , engineering , biology , organic chemistry
Physical forces experienced by engineered‐tissues during in vitro cultivation influence tissue growth and function. The hydrodynamic environment within bioreactors plays a decisive role in providing the necessary physical stimuli and nutrient transport to support tissue development. Our overall goal is to investigate interrelationships between the local hydrodynamic environment in the bioreactor and the structural and functional tissue properties in order to optimize the production of clinically relevant engineered‐tissues. To this end, we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to characterize the complex hydrodynamic environment in a wavy‐walled bioreactor used for cultivation of tissue‐engineered cartilage constructs and examined the changes in the flow field due to the presence of constructs. The flow‐induced shear stress range experienced by engineered constructs cultivated in the wavy‐walled bioreactor (0–0.67 dyn/cm 2 ) was found to be significantly lower than that in the spinner flask (0–1.2 dyn/cm 2 ), and to be modulated by the radial or axial position of the constructs. These CFD results are validated by experimental particle‐image velocimetry (PIV) measurements previously reported by our group. Results from the present study indicate that the location of constructs in the bioreactor not only affected the magnitude and distribution of the shear stresses on the constructs, but also other hydrodynamic parameters, such as the directional distribution of the fluid velocity and the degree of fluid recirculation, all of which may differentially influence the development of tissue‐engineered constructs. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007; 98: 282–294. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.