Construction of a Multicoaxial Hollow Fiber Bioreactor

Abstract

Bioreactors are assembled tools conceived to exploit engineering principles with inbuilt biological ­relevance. Such reactors are created as in vitro models to better replicate natural in vivo organs. These biotools are subsets within the interdisciplinary tissue engineering field and are established as inert devices to improve upon biological stimuli while simultaneously allowing tissue functional properties to be nondestructively measured. Design and fabrication efforts are focused on two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) physical constructs while linking environment–cell relations, the microenvironment. Product proficiencies generally involve material scaffolds, nutrient dispersion, compartmentalized units, passive and kinetic flow channels, temperature regulation, pressure management, and cell line or primary cells from assorted organs as tissues. Bioreactor advancements continue with interdisciplinary principles such as energy conservation, cell ecosystems, system-biological approaches, and viable-cell design innovation. Herein, we describe the design and construction of a hollow fiber multicoaxial bioreactor with integral oxygenation (i.e., oxygenation within the bioreactor proper) for use with liver cells, but it could be used with any anchorage-dependent cell type.