RESEARCH ARTICLE


The Role of Bioreactors in Tissue Engineering for Musculoskeletal Applications



Emeka Oragui*, 1, Madhusudhan Nannaparaju1, Wasim S Khan 2
1 Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, Romford, UK
2 University College London Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Sciences, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, Middlesex, HA7 4LP, UK


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Creative Commons License
© Oragui et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, Romford, UK; Tel: +44 (0) 1708 435000; Fax: +44 (0) 845 1304204; E-mail: emekaoragui@hotmail.com


Abstract

Tissue engineering involves using the principles of biology, chemistry and engineering to design a ‘neotissue’ that augments a malfunctioning in vivo tissue. The main requirements for functional engineered tissue include reparative cellular components that proliferate on a biocompatible scaffold grown within a bioreactor that provides specific biochemical and physical signals to regulate cell differentiation and tissue assembly. We discuss the role of bioreactors in tissue engineering and evaluate the principles of bioreactor design. We evaluate the methods of cell stimulation and review the bioreactors in common use today.

Keywords: Bioreactors, design, scaffolds, stimulation, tissue engineering.