Bioreactor Design Optimization for Mechanical Stretch and Noninvasive Imaging.
Smith, Shannon.
2012
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Abstract: Researchers have developed in vitro bioreactor systems that can more
closely simulate the native in vivo cell environment. These systems allow better
understanding of the complex interactions between cells and their environment, and can lead
to the development of more physiologically relevant engineered tissues. A novel bioreactor
was previously created in our lab to subject up to fo... read moreur individual cellular constructs at a
time to mechanical stretch, while allowing the ability to perform nondestructive imaging
throughout the course of experiments. The goal of this project was to improve the design of
the cell culture chambers, facilitating an extended duration of experiments and the
multiplexing of simultaneous experimental groups. Validation studies were carried out to
four weeks of mechanical stimulation, surpassing the ten days published with the previous
system. Silk yarn constructs were seeded with MSCs and broken into three experimental
groups according to duration. Each group contained four stretched constructs and four
static controls. Confocal imaging throughout the process tracked cell growth and mechanical
failure testing at the endpoints confirmed the changes in the biomaterial properties. The
stretching was not shown to yield statistically significant differences in material
properties, but time was a significant factor. The results show that the system is capable
of long-term experiments, and may easily be adapted to vary experimental
conditions.
Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2012.
Submitted to the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering.
Advisor: David Kaplan.
Committee: Qiabing Xu, and Gary Leisk.
Keywords: Biomedical engineering, Biomechanics, and Mechanics.read less - ID:
- 794088476
- Component ID:
- tufts:21146
- To Cite:
- DCA Citation Guide EndNote
