Division of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore, Engineering Drive 1, E2-04-01, Singapore, 119260.
Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2009;112:231-49. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-69357-4_10.
The hydrodynamic environment "created" by bioreactors for the culture of a tissue engineered construct (TEC) is known to influence cell migration, proliferation and extra cellular matrix production. However, tissue engineers have looked at bioreactors as black boxes within which TECs are cultured mainly by trial and error, as the complex relationship between the hydrodynamic environment and tissue properties remains elusive, yet is critical to the production of clinically useful tissues. It is well known in the chemical and biotechnology field that a more detailed description of fluid mechanics and nutrient transport within process equipment can be achieved via the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology. Hence, the coupling of experimental methods and computational simulations forms a synergistic relationship that can potentially yield greater and yet, more cohesive data sets for bioreactor studies. This review aims at discussing the rationale of using CFD in bioreactor studies related to tissue engineering, as fluid flow processes and phenomena have direct implications on cellular response such as migration and/or proliferation. We conclude that CFD should be seen by tissue engineers as an invaluable tool allowing us to analyze and visualize the impact of fluidic forces and stresses on cells and TECs.
生物反应器为组织工程构建体（TEC）培养“创造”的流体动力学环境已被证实会影响细胞迁移、增殖和细胞外基质的产生。然而，组织工程师将生物反应器视为黑箱，主要通过反复试验来培养 TEC，因为流体动力学环境和组织特性之间的复杂关系仍然难以捉摸，但对于生产临床有用的组织至关重要。在化学和生物技术领域，人们已经认识到，通过使用计算流体动力学（CFD）技术，可以更详细地描述工艺设备内的流体力学和营养物质传输。因此，实验方法和计算模拟的结合形成了协同关系，有可能为生物反应器研究提供更大、更一致的数据。本文旨在讨论在与组织工程相关的生物反应器研究中使用 CFD 的基本原理，因为流体流动过程和现象直接影响细胞的反应，例如迁移和/或增殖。我们得出的结论是，组织工程师应该将 CFD 视为一种宝贵的工具，使我们能够分析和可视化流体力和应力对细胞和 TEC 的影响。
