title: Micro-bioreactor array for controlling cellular microenvironments.
abstract: High throughput experiments can be used to spatially and temporally investigate the many factors that regulate cell differentiation. We have developed a micro-bioreactor array (MBA) that is fabricated using soft lithography and contains twelve independent micro-bioreactors perfused with culture medium. The MBA enables cultivation of cells that are either attached to substrates or encapsulated in hydrogels, at variable levels of hydrodynamic shear, and with automated image analysis of the expression of cell differentiation markers. The flow and mass transport in the MBA were characterized by computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling. The representative MBA configurations were validated using the C2C12 cell line, primary rat cardiac myocytes and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) (lines H09 and H13). To illustrate the utility of the MBA for controlled studies of hESCs, we established correlations between the expression of smooth muscle actin and cell density for three different flow configurations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Figallo
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cannizzaro
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gerecht
authors.forename: Jason A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Burdick
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Langer
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Elvassore
authors.forename: Gordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vunjak-Novakovic
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D019149:Bioreactors; D002452:Cell Count; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003470:Culture Media; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000378:metabolism; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D051381:Rats; D012212:Rheology; D033081:Shear Strength; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D003470:Culture Media