A multiphysics 3D model of tissue growth under interstitial perfusion in a tissue-engineering bioreactor

The main challenge in engineered cartilage consists in understanding and controlling the growth process towards a functional tissue. Mathematical and computational modelling can help in the optimal design of the bioreactor configuration and in a quantitative understanding of important culture parameters. In this work, we present a multiphysics computational model for the prediction of cartilage tissue growth in an interstitial perfusion bioreactor. The model consists of two separate sub-models, one two-dimensional (2D) sub-model and one three-dimensional (3D) sub-model, which are coupled between each other. These sub-models account both for the hydrodynamic microenvironment imposed by the bioreactor, using a model based on the Navier-Stokes equation, the mass transport equation and the biomass growth. The biomass, assumed as a phase comprising cells and the synthesised extracellular matrix, has been modelled by using a moving boundary approach. In particular, the boundary at the fluid-biomass interface is moving with a velocity depending from the local oxygen concentration and viscous stress. In this work, we show that all parameters predicted, such as oxygen concentration and wall shear stress, by the 2D sub-model with respect to the ones predicted by the 3D sub-model are systematically overestimated and thus the tissue growth, which directly depends on these parameters. This implies that further predictive models for tissue growth should take into account of the three dimensionality of the problem for any scaffold microarchitecture.