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• König, F
• Hollweck, T
• Pfeifer, S
• Reichart, B
• Wintermantel, E
• Hagl, C
• Akra, B
• [+] on Google Scholar
• König, F
• Hollweck, T
• Pfeifer, S
• Reichart, B
• Wintermantel, E
• Hagl, C
• Akra, B
• [+] on PubMed
• König, F
• Hollweck, T
• Pfeifer, S
• Reichart, B
• Wintermantel, E
• Hagl, C
• Akra, B

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J. Funct. Biomater. 2012, 3(3), 480-496; doi:10.3390/jfb3030480

Article

A Pulsatile Bioreactor for Conditioning of Tissue-Engineered Cardiovascular Constructs under Endoscopic Visualization

Fabian König ^1,† , Trixi Hollweck ^2,† , Stefan Pfeifer ¹ , Bruno Reichart ² , Erich Wintermantel ¹ , Christian Hagl ²  and Bassil Akra ^2,*

¹ Chair of Medical Engineering, Technical University Munich, Boltzmannstrasse 15, Garching 85748, Germany ² Department of Cardiac Surgery, Medical Center Munich University, Marchioninistr. 15, Munich 81377, Germany ^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 23 May 2012; in revised form: 27 June 2012 / Accepted: 9 July 2012 / Published: 19 July 2012

Download PDF Full-Text [1482 KB, uploaded 19 July 2012 09:06 CEST]

Abstract: Heart valve disease (HVD) is a globally increasing problem and accounts for thousands of deaths yearly. Currently end-stage HVD can only be treated by total valve replacement, however with major drawbacks. To overcome the limitations of conventional substitutes, a new clinical approach based on cell colonization of artificially manufactured heart valves has been developed. Even though this attempt seems promising, a confluent and stable cell layer has not yet been achieved due to the high stresses present in this area of the human heart. This study describes a bioreactor with a new approach to cell conditioning of tissue engineered heart valves. The bioreactor provides a low pulsatile flow that grants the correct opening and closing of the valve without high shear stresses. The flow rate can be regulated allowing a steady and sensitive conditioning process. Furthermore, the correct functioning of the valve can be monitored by endoscope surveillance in real-time. The tubeless and modular design allows an accurate, simple and faultless assembly of the reactor in a laminar flow chamber. It can be concluded that the bioreactor provides a strong tool for dynamic pre-conditioning and monitoring of colonized heart valve prostheses physiologically exposed to shear stress.

Keywords: bioreactor; tissue engineering; dynamic cell conditioning; heart valve disease

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