Comparison of dynamic and static cultures of chondrocyte cells seeded in enzymatically-gellable pectin-gelatin hydrogels

Introduction Increasing the number of cells in a short time period is a concern for many researchers. Non-mixing, the presence of nutrient and oxygen concentration gradient at static cultures, make dynamic cultures more favorable. Objectives Characteristics of Pectin-Gelatin hydrogels and cell behavior were investigated at dynamic and static cultures of seeded chondrocyte cells. Methods An enzymaticlly-hydrogellable scaffold of pectin modified (2%)-gelatin modified (1%) was prepared by introducing phenolic groups and cell culture tests were performed using chondrocyte cells. For dynamic culture, a perfusion bioreactor with a volume of 70ml and containing two channels, each with a100mm length and a width of 20mm, was designed and constructed. The internal environment of the enclosure system was circulated with a flow rate of 20ml/min by a pump. Dynamic culture was performed inside the bioreactor and the static culture of the hydrogel containing chondrocyte cells was investigated after 7 days. Results The results showed the enzymatically-gellable scaffold with 50-100μm pore sizes had a gelation time about 2min, with a mechanical strength of 155kPa at 80% strain, the remaining dry weight loss of 25.3% after 15 days and 14.4% swelling over a period of 100h. Dynamic culture results indicated a 2-fold increase in cell density in the perfusion bioreactor compared to static culture, which can be due to proper mixing and appropriate oxygen and nutrient transfer to cells inside the scaffold. ConclusionThe results indicated the use of the P.ph-G.ph enzymatically gellable hydrogel in dynamic culture conditions can be an effective tool for the fabrication of soft tissue engineering, such as cartilage tissue.

کلیدواژه ها:

dynamic culture ، perfusion bioreactor ، circulation ، enzymatically-gellable pectin-gelatin scaffold ، soft tissue engineering