Flow rates in perfusion bioreactors to maximise mineralisation in bone tissue engineering in vitro

In bone tissue engineering experiments, fluid-induced shear stress is able to stimulate cells to produce mineralised extracellular matrix (ECM). The application of shear stress on seeded cells can for example be achieved through bioreactors that perfuse medium through porous scaffolds. The generated mechanical environment (i.e. wall shear stress: WSS) within the scaffolds is complex due to the complexity of scaffold geometry. This complexity has so far prevented setting an optimal loading (i.e. flow rate) of the bioreactor to achieve an optimal distribution of WSS for stimulating cells to produce mineralised ECM.
Source: Journal of Biomechanics - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Tags: Short communication Source Type: research