Monitoring nutrient concentrations within Tissue Engineering bioreactors
Tissue Engineering typically involves the seeding of cells onto 3-dimensional biomaterial scaffolds, and culturing these constructs in a bioreactor. One of the main functions of the bioreactor is to overcome the mass transport limitations associated with static culturing methods. In static culture, cells consume nutrients from the media faster than the diffusion processes can replenish them, resulting in low concentrations of these nutrients in the centre of the 3-D construct. By providing flow of media within the construct using a bioreactor, convective mass transport allows cells within the 3-D construct to be supplied with enough nutrients to proliferate.
Oxygen is consumed by cells, and its relatively low solubility means that is quickly depleted within 3-D constructs. This research will involve measuring the dissolved oxygen concentration within a 3-D Tissue Engineered construct both in static culture and within a bioreactor and aims to investigate how the rate of consumption of oxygen by cells varies during the dynamic culture of a Tissue Engineered construct.
Janssen, F.W., Hofland, I, Oostra, J., Peters, H and van Bitterswijk, C.A. (2006), Online Measurement of oxygen consumption by goat bone marrow stromal cells in a combined cell-seeding and proliferation perfusion bioreactor. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 79, 338-348
Malda, J., Rouwkema, J., Martens, D.E., Le Comte, E.P., Kooy, F.K.,
Tramper, J., van Blitterswijk, C.A. and Riesle, J. (2004) Oxygen Gradients in Tissue-Engineered PEGT/PBT Cartilaginous Constructs: Measurement and Modeling, Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 86, 9.
Personnel Involved
First Supervisor: Brown, A Dr
Second Supervisor: Meenan, BJ Prof
Collaboration: This project does not involve collaboration with another establishment
Synopsis:
This project will involve the production of scaffold materials, the culture of cells, teh seeding of cells onto these scaffolds and the subsequent culture of the constructs in a perfusion bioreactor. Real-time oxygen monitoring will be integrated into the bioreactor and the results of this monitoring evaluated in order to establish the usefulness of this method for process control.
An understanding of cell culture and / or tissue engineering would be an advantage, and the ability to develop new systems and problem solve are essential