A Perfusion Bioreactor for Long-Term Studies of the Dynamics of the Formation of a Tissue Equivalent

This paper presents results obtained from a modified perfusion bioreactor designed to form tissue equivalents in conditions of long-term cultivation with the capacity to oxygenate the medium. The design of the device permits the morphology of cellular engineering structures to be studies at four cultivation time points under flow conditions and also provides for constant monitoring of culture medium pH, O2 and CO2 contents, and major metabolite contents throughout the experiment. The functional effectiveness of the bioreactor is confirmed by the example of “growing” the tissue equivalent of cartilage for 25 days with maintenance of cell culture viability, with constant values for the main culture medium parameters and sterility.