Computational modeling and experimental characterization of fluid dynamics in micro-CT scanned scaffolds within a multiple-sample airlift perfusion bioreactor

The perfusion of flow during cell culture induces cell proliferation and enhances cellular activity. Perfusion bioreactors offer a controlled dynamic environment for reliable in vitro applications in the tissue engineering field. In this work, to evaluate the effects of the operating parameters of a custom-made bioreactor, numerical simulations were performed to solve the fluid velocity profile inside the bioreactor containing multi-grid support that allows allocating of multiple seeded scaffolds at the same time. The perfusion system exhibited a uniform distribution of liquid velocities within the regions, suitable for cell growth on seeded scaffolds. The effects of the porous microstructu…