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Culture of living cells using scaffolds and bioreactors to mimic the natural environment of native tissue as close and possible allows to better understand the mechano-biological parameters involved. In this context, the architecture of biodegradable scaffolds contributes to control some of these key parameters such as permeability and fluid flow-induced shear stress. However, these studies are very time-consuming and costly. As a complement to in vitro research on the influence of these parameters, the use of numerical models plays here a key role to predict the mechano-biological outcomes. In this study, the effect of biodegradable scaffold's architecture on the above-mentioned parameters was computationally investigated. For this purpose, eight orthogonal and non-orthogonal scaffolds including graded and non-graded porous models under dynamic cell culture conditions were explored. The results suggest 60GRAD geometry as the best candidate for bone tissue engineering. The findings of this work can be used to design better biodegradable scaffolds in this research field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regarding electric field stimulation in tissue engineering, namely in bone in vitro stimulation, we wonder if by introduc-ing different scaffold geometries into the cell culture chamber environment, we are changing the externally applied electric field magnitude. Also, if we assume that the presence of the scaffold changes the magnitude of the surrounding electric field, can we just by picking a specific scaffold material be delivering electric fields outside the osteoinductive range for that specific cell line. To answer these questions, numerical models for three different scaffold geometries and for a capacitively coupled system were created. The models allow to understand that the presence of the scaffold impacts and interferes with its surrounding electric field, generating patterns that may increase the electric field magnitude in some regions inside the scaffod, and at the same time may block the electric field in other regions of the same scaffold. Another insigth from numerical models is that even keeping the same scaffold geometry, just by changing the scaffold material we are changing this interference pattern and delivering different electric fields in the scaffold region-of-interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue Engineering is seen as the ultimate strategy in the treatment and replacement of lost or damaged tissues, by studying the possibility of reproducing biophysical environments to mimic the function and structure of a part of the human body, thus leading to new perspectives on tissue reconstruction. Recent advances in the study of bioreactors have been done using different types of mechanical, electrical and magnetic stimuli which can be applied in cells cultured at in vitro systems. However, few numerical studies exist to address this challenge. In silico (modelling) studies are crucial to reduce multiplicity of experimental protocols. Therefore, a computational modelling approach is proposed here to understand more deeply the biophysical phenomena involved in electric stimulation of cell cultures. This study addresses two different calculation methods for the electric field resulting from two in vitro protocols using electric stimulation delivered through capacitive and direct coupling systems. Analytical and numerical methods show consistency in predictions, providing insights on the inherent physical mechanisms and a solid framework to optimize electric current delivery at cellular targets to accelerate tissue regeneration processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]