Principles of bioreactor design for tissue engineering

Abstract In tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, bioreactors are needed to (1) grow functional tissue grafts for clinical applications; (2) study biological responses in tissue development, disease research; and (3) optimize cell manufacturing parameters for large-scale reproducible production of high-quality cells. The basic principle of bioreactor design is to mimic the native tissue environment. Bioreactors are grouped here into two categories: macrobioreactors and microbioreactors. We discussed the design principles of the bioreactor with respect to mass transport, physiological signaling, flow rheology, and cell microenvironment. We described examples of bioreactor designs to illustrate how to incorporate those principles. The advancements in specialized bioreactor designs are to distinguish the biological responses of cells and tissues under different physiological stimulations, as well as integrating the real-time control of graft development and the tissue growth. The nascent developments in the personalized patient-derived organ-on-a-chip platforms as prognostic or diagnostic tool would help to progress the future of bespoke medicine.