Development of bioreactor for regenerative medicine and effect of mechanical stimuli on mesenchymal stem cells in polyurethane scaffolds

It is well known that mesenchymal stem cell (MSCs) can be differentiated into fibroblasts, chondrocytes, and osteoblasts and that they develop into fibrous tissue, cartilage, or bone, as a result of mechanical stimulation. In this study, we developed a bioreactor system, which is composed of a reactor vessel that provides the required cell culture environment, an environment controlling chamber to control the media, a gas mixer, and a reactor motion control subsystem to apply mechanical stimuli to the cells. For the MSC culture, We used a poly-urethane (PU) scaffold, with a collagen coating to ensure improved cohesion ratio. Then, we transferred the cultivated MSCs in the PU scaffold, cultured the cells in the bioreactor system, and confirmed the proliferation, differentiation, and ossification processes, resulting from mechanical stimuli.