Bioreactor and scaffold design for the mechanical stimulation of anterior cruciate ligament grafts

• Published in: Bio-medical materials and engineering Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 225 - 237
• Main Authors: Hohlrieder, M, Teuschl, A H, Cicha, K, van Griensven, M, Redl, H, Stampfl, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 2013
• Subjects: Anterior Cruciate Ligament - cytology; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Bioreactors; Cell Survival; Cells, Cultured; Equipment Design; Fibroblasts - cytology; Humans; Materials Testing; Silk - chemistry; Tissue Engineering - instrumentation; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry
• ISSN: 0959-2989; 1878-3619
• DOI: 10.3233/BME-130746

Various studies have shown that physical stimuli modulate cell function and this has motivated the development of a bioreactor to engineer tissues in vitro by exposing them to mechanical loads. Here, we present a bioreactor for the physical stimulation of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) grafts, whereby complex multi-dimensional strain can be applied to the matrices. Influences from environmental conditions to the behavior of different cells on our custom-made silk scaffold can be investigated since the design of the bioreactor allows controlling these parameters precisely. With the braided design of the presented silk scaffold we achieve maximum loads and stiffness values matching those of the human ACL. Thus, the existent degummed and wet silk scaffolds absorb maximum loads of 2030±109 N with stiffness values of 336±40 N/mm.