Bioreactors

The human body is exposed to a diverse range of forces throughout life, as it interacts with a complex and ever-changing physical environment. In order to understand how these forces influence cell behavior, it is necessary to be able to recreate the mechanical elements of the body's internal environment under testable laboratory conditions - for this, we need bioreactors. This chapter provides an introduction to the purpose and design of bioreactors for use in research in cell biology and in optimizing the culture of lab-grown engineered tissues. We discuss key examples of each type of bioreactor (perfusion, shear, compression, and tensile systems) and indicate how they can be used to develop suitable mechanical environments for research and commercial applications.