Cultivation of hierarchical 3D scaffolds inside a perfusion bioreactor: scaffold design and finite-element analysis of fluid flow

Abstract

Article highlights A design of experiments to generate 16 scaffold architectures and compositions, featuring both micropores and macrochannels, so as to provide an ideal environment for bone regeneration; The step-by-step fabrication process, examining the internal structures, and the simulation of fluid flow (COMSOL) to supply adequate mechanical stimulation during bioreactor cultivation; The DNA content for the cell-seeded scaffolds over time (culture dish vs. a bioreactor), compared with a commercial scaffold featuring a similar porosity and pore size range.

Keywords

• Phase separation
• 3D-plotting
• COMSOL simulation
• Perfusion bioreactor
• Design of experiments