Creation of a bioreactor for the application of variable amplitude mechanical stimulation of fibrin gel-based engineered cardiac tissue.

Abstract

This chapter details the creation of three-dimensional fibrin hydrogels as an engineered myocardial tissue and introduces a mechanical stretch bioreactor system that allows for the cycle-to-cycle variable amplitude mechanical stretch of the constructs as a method of conditioning the constructs to be more similar to native tissue. Though mechanical stimulation has been established as a standard method of improving construct development, most studies have been performed under constant frequency and constant amplitude, even though variability is a critical aspect of healthy cardiac physiology. The introduction of variability in other organ systems has demonstrated beneficial effects to cell function in vitro. We hypothesize that the introduction of variability in engineered cardiac tissue could have a similar effect.