Perfuse and Reuse: A Low-Cost Three-Dimensional-Printed Perfusion Bioreactor for Tissue Engineering

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Tissue Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Maintaining centimeter-scale tissue constructs in vitro for extended periods presents significant challenges.
• Existing bioreactor systems can be costly and lack integrated live imaging and sampling capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the fabrication of a customizable, low-cost bioreactor system.
• To enable long-term static and perfusion culture of vascularized or canalized tissue constructs.
• To incorporate intermittent live imaging and media sampling functionalities.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a bioreactor using 3D-printed poly-lactic acid (PLA) molds for polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) components.
• Assembly of a perfusion system and coverslip-based tissue culture chamber.
• Culture and analysis of a proof-of-concept vascularized hydrogel construct under static and perfusion conditions.
• Flow studies using fluorescent beads and widefield fluorescent microscopy.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of a customizable bioreactor system at exceptionally low cost.
• Demonstration of centimeter-scale vascularized hydrogel construct maintenance for weeks in static and perfusion culture.
• Capability for intermittent live imaging and media sampling was confirmed.
• Flow studies validated the perfusion system's functionality.

Conclusions:

• The developed bioreactor system is readily reproducible and cost-effective.
• This system facilitates long-term culture of complex tissue constructs.
• It has the potential to significantly advance tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research.