Bioreactor systems, for example, spinner flask and perfusion bioreactors, and cell-seeded three-dimensional (3D)-printed scaffolds are used in bone tissue engineering strategies to stimulate cells and produce bone tissue suitable for implantation into the patient. The construction of functional and clinically relevant bone graft using cell-seeded 3D-printed scaffolds within bioreactor systems is still a challenge. Bioreactor parameters, for example, fluid shear stress and nutrient transport, will crucially affect cell function on 3D-printed scaffolds. Therefore, fluid shear stress induced by spinner flask and perfusion bioreactors might differentially affect osteogenic responsiveness of pre-osteoblasts inside 3D-printed scaffolds. We designed and fabricated surface-modified 3D-printed poly-ɛ-caprolactone (PCL) scaffolds, as well as static, spinner flask, and perfusion bioreactors to determine fluid shear stress and osteogenic responsiveness of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts seeded on the scaffolds in the bioreactors using finite element (FE)-modeling and experiments. FE-modeling was used to quantify wall shear stress (WSS) distribution and magnitude inside 3D-printed PCL scaffolds within spinner flask and perfusion bioreactors. MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts were seeded on NaOH surface-modified 3D-printed PCL scaffolds, and cultured in customized static, spinner flask, and perfusion bioreactors up to 7 days. The scaffolds' physicochemical properties and pre-osteoblast function were assessed experimentally. FE-modeling showed that spinner flask and perfusion bioreactors locally affected WSS distribution and magnitude inside the scaffolds. The WSS distribution was more homogeneous inside scaffolds in perfusion than in spinner flask bioreactors. The average WSS on scaffold-strand surfaces ranged from 0 to 6.5 mPa for spinner flask bioreactors, and from 0 to 4.1 mPa for perfusion bioreactors. Surface modification of scaffolds by NaOH resulted in a surface with a honeycomb-like pattern and increased surface roughness (1.6-fold), but decreased water contact angle (0.3-fold). Both spinner flask and perfusion bioreactors increased cell spreading, proliferation, and distribution throughout the scaffolds. Perfusion, but not spinner flask bioreactors more strongly enhanced collagen (2.2-fold) and calcium deposition (2.1-fold) throughout the scaffolds after 7 days compared with static bioreactors, likely due to uniform WSS-induced mechanical stimulation of the cells revealed by FE-modeling. In conclusion, our findings indicate the importance of using accurate FE models to estimate WSS and determine experimental conditions for designing cell-seeded 3D-printed scaffolds in bioreactor systems. Impact Statement The success of cell-seeded three-dimensional (3D)-printed scaffolds depends on cell stimulation by biomechanical/biochemical factors to produce bone tissue suitable for implantation into the patient. We designed and fabricated surface-modified 3D-printed poly-ɛ-caprolactone (PCL) scaffolds, as well as static, spinner flask, and perfusion bioreactors to determine wall shear stress (WSS) and osteogenic responsiveness of pre-osteoblasts seeded on the scaffolds using finite element (FE)-modeling and experiments. We found that cell-seeded 3D-printed PCL scaffolds within perfusion bioreactors more strongly enhanced osteogenic activity than within spinner flask bioreactors. Our results indicate the importance of using accurate FE-models to estimate WSS and determine experimental conditions for designing cell-seeded 3D-printed scaffolds in bioreactor systems.
Keywords: 3D-printed PCL scaffold; bone tissue engineering; finite element modeling; osteoblasts; perfusion bioreactor; spinner flask bioreactor.