title: Field models and numerical dosimetry inside an extremely-low-frequency electromagnetic bioreactor: the theoretical link between the electromagnetically induced mechanical forces and the biological mechanisms of the cell tensegrity.
abstract: We have implemented field models and performed a detailed numerical dosimetry inside our extremely-low-frequency electromagnetic bioreactor which has been successfully used in in vitro Biotechnology and Tissue Engineering researches. The numerical dosimetry permitted to map the magnetic induction field (maximum module equal to about 3.3 mT) and to discuss its biological effects in terms of induced electric currents and induced mechanical forces (compression and traction). So, in the frame of the tensegrity-mechanotransduction theory of Ingber, the study of these electromagnetically induced mechanical forces could be, in our opinion, a powerful tool to understand some effects of the electromagnetic stimulation whose mechanisms remain still elusive.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale e dell'Informazione, Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, Pavia, 27100 Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Evelina
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mognaschi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale e dell'Informazione, Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, Pavia, 27100 Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Di Barba
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale e dell'Informazione, Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, Pavia, 27100 Italy ; Centro di Ingegneria Tissutale (C.I.T.), Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Magenes
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Università "Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lenzi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Anatomiche, Istologiche, Medico-Legali e dell'Apparato Locomotore, Università "Sapienza", Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Naro
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale e dell'Informazione, Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, Pavia, 27100 Italy ; Centro di Ingegneria Tissutale (C.I.T.), Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fassina
keywords: Electromagnetic field models; Induced electric currents; Induced electric field; Induced mechanical forces; Magnetic induction field; Numerical electromagnetic dosimetry; Tensegrity