Modeling of effects of nutrient gradients on cell proliferation in microfluidic bioreactor

Precise control of the microenvironment is highly desirable in cell culture to study the cell biology. Microfluidic based bioreactors provide a promising method for the spatial and temporal control of cell growth and stimuli. A three-dimensional nutrient transport model, incorporating the monolayer cell growth model, has been developed to investigate the influence of gradients of oxygen and epidermal growth factor (EGF) on the cell culture in the continuous-flow microchannel bioreactor. Our results demonstrate that applying inlet concentration gradients of oxygen and EGF can induce variations of cell density in the y-direction. It is further found that compared to the oxygen gradients the EGF concentration gradients are more efficient in regulating the cell growth.