Bioreactors for tissue engineering purposes

Bioreactors are a tool used in tissue engineering to mature and guide the development of tissue engineered constructs. Bioreactors are in vitro culture systems that have been designed to alter the following basic physiological phenomena: cell survival along with tissue structure, organization, mechanical properties, and function. Bioreactors ensure cell survival through adequate delivery of essential nutrients throughout the three-dimensional tissue engineered construct. Bioreactors can also guide tissue structure, organization, and ultimately function through the application of chemical and mechanical stimuli. It is important to understand the proper implementation of bioreactor design principles in order to create better tissue engineered products like artificial organs for transplantation. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate these general principles using the vascular tissue engineering paradigm.