Bioreactor design for tendon/ligament engineering

Tao Wang, Bruce S. Gardiner, Zhen Lin, Jonas Rubenson, Thomas B. Kirk, Allan Wang, Jiake Xu, David W. Smith, David G. Lloyd, Ming H. Zheng

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

78 Scopus citations

Abstract

Tendon and ligament injury is a worldwide health problem, but the treatment options remain limited. Tendon and ligament engineering might provide an alternative tissue source for the surgical replacement of injured tendon. A bioreactor provides a controllable environment enabling the systematic study of specific biological, biochemical, and biomechanical requirements to design and manufacture engineered tendon/ligament tissue. Furthermore, the tendon/ligament bioreactor system can provide a suitable culture environment, which mimics the dynamics of the in vivo environment for tendon/ligament maturation. For clinical settings, bioreactors also have the advantages of less-contamination risk, high reproducibility of cell propagation by minimizing manual operation, and a consistent end product. In this review, we identify the key components, design preferences, and criteria that are required for the development of an ideal bioreactor for engineering tendons and ligaments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)133-146
Number of pages14
JournalTissue Engineering - Part B: Reviews
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Bioengineering
  • Biomaterials
  • Biochemistry
  • Biomedical Engineering

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