A Novel Bioreactor for Tissue Engineering: Characterization of the Hydrodynamic Environment in the Wavy-walled Bioreactor

Current research in tissue engineering indicates the need to investigate the effects of mechanical and hydrodynamic forces on the development of engineered-tissues cultivated in bioreactors. The unique geometry of the wavy-walled bioreactor provided various flow environments for tissue cultivation and the elucidation of cause-and-effect relationships between hydrodynamic parameters and tissue properties. These studies revealed that shear stress, as well as axial and radial flow affected tissue size, spatial distribution of cells within the scaffolds, and formation of a dedifferentiated layer of chondrocytes around tissue. A kinetic tissue-growth model was developed that predicts chondrocyte proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition in constructs cultivated in bioreactors. Using artificial neural network models, these kinetic constants were correlated with the hydrodynamic parameters. Finally, a dynamic optimization tool was developed in order to predict the bioreactor operating conditions and hydrodynamic parameters that yield tissues with desired properties.