Download Chapter 1 - Worcester Polytechnic Institute

will displace a larger volume. The individual tissue chambers provide isolated culture environments for
each set of tissue rings. The user may adjust the type of culture media and additives in each system.
6.1.4. Device and materials are biocompatible
After 3 and 7 day culturing periods, cells remained viable and healthy without evidence of
contamination. This is partially due to the biocompatible and sterilizable material choices (UHMWPE,
sterile syringes, stainless steel dowels, polypropylene pinch clamps). Additionally, the tissue chamber’s
loose-fitting Petri dish-style lids allow gas exchange, and the removable tray allows the samples to be
easily transported to a biosafety cabinet where cell culture media can be replenished. Finally, the
bioreactor meets the defined size constraints and is able to fit in an incubator.
6.1.5. Easy to secure and remove samples
During the loading phase of cell testing, 88% (21 of 24) of tissue engineered blood vessel rings were
successfully loaded onto the silicone tube. This confirms that the 10 cm silicone tube (OD=1.968,
ID=1.9558) successfully houses the tissue rings and provides a simple, user-friendly assembly platform.
Furthermore, the luer fittings allow the user to access the tubing and rings which facilitates the loading
and unloading of culture samples into and out of the tissue chambers.
6.1.6. Time and budget met
The entire bioreactor was designed and manufactured within the 21 week time constraint, and the team
produced a working prototype for less than the $368 budget.
6.2 Economic impact
This bioreactor design has the potential for economic impacts in the research community and in clinical
use. The bioreactor was manufactured for less than $400. For comparison, the Harvard 22 Syringe Pump
which uses two syringes compared to five and may only contribute as a single component of other
bioreactor designs is advertised as the industry standard and costs over $3000 (Harvard Pump 22, 2010).
The production of our high-throughput bioreactor would supplement the production rate of cell culture
and research. This may lead to earlier FDA approved TEBV grafts that could be used to treat
cardiovascular disease. As these types of grafts would consist of tissues that are derived from the
68 | P a g e