Engineering Parameters in Bioreactor’s Design: A Critical Aspect in Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Bioreactors are important inevitable part of any tissue engineering (TE) strategy as they aid the construction of three-dimensional functional tissues. Since the ultimate aim of a bioreactor is to create a biological product, the engineering parameters, for example, internal and external mass transfer, fluid velocity, shear stress, electrical current distribution, and so forth, are worth to be thoroughly investigated. The effects of such engineering parameters on biological cultures have been addressed in only a few preceding studies. Furthermore, it would be highly inefficient to determine the optimal engineering parameters by trial and error method. A solution is provided by emerging modeling and computational tools and by analyzing oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nutrient and metabolism waste material transports, which can simulate and predict the experimental results. Discovering the optimal engineering parameters is crucial not only to reduce the cost and time of experiments, but also to enhance efficacy and functionality of the tissue construct. This review intends to provide an inclusive package of the engineering parameters together with their calculation procedure in addition to the modeling techniques in TE bioreactors.

Applications and optimization of cryopreservation technologies to cellular therapeutics

“…Similar to the production process, recovery could be achieved by transferring these cell constructs into a bioreactor which provides a dynamic environment aiming to mimic the perfusion condition which cells are subjected to in vivo, with more effective mass transfer properties [75]. A number of different types of bioreactors exist (fluidised bed, rotary cell culture system) that can optimally support cell recovery and metabolism whilst minimising cell damage [76][77][78][79]. Such systems can be readily scaled-up for fast recovery of large volumes of cryopreserved cell therapies.…”

Induced Pluripotent and Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Promising Tool for Articular Cartilage Regeneration

“…As far as bioprocessing is concerned, the following issues should be considered: (i) maintaining a uniform cell concentration within the scaffold during cell seeding (ii) controlling aseptic parameters and (iii) availability of automated processing steps [24]. Successful bioprocessing depends upon several important factors.…”

“…Unfortunately, necrotic areas may be created in centers of the structure due to the limited nutrient and oxygen transport [37]. The transport of dissolved oxygen in a bioreactor takes place in three main regions: (i) bulk fluid phase of the bioreactor, called global mass transfer (ii) internal mass transfer, that appears from bulk to the surface of the aggregates and (iii) external mass transfer, which occurs among the aggregated cells [24]. In contrast to single cells, the aggregates or the cells seeded on the microcarriers are affected at lower agitation frequency, because of inverse relationship between Kolmogorov eddy size and agitation intensity [30].…”

Factors Affecting Mass Transport Properties of Poly(Ε-Caprolactone) Membranes for Tissue Engineering Bioreactors

“…The importance of hydrodynamics on the performance of nutrients supply in bioreactors has been largely proven and many research studies aim at understanding and improving the fluid dynamics of different bioreactor designs [5,6]. Furthermore, the membrane used as scaffold support for cells proliferation and differentiation represents an 2 of 13 important barrier for the successful access of nutrients to the cells.…”