The performance of porous scaffolds for tissue engineering (TE) applications is evaluated, in general, in terms of porosity, pore size and distribution, and pore tortuosity. These descriptors are often confounding when they are applied to characterize transport phenomena within porous scaffolds. On the contrary, permeability is a more effective parameter in (1) estimating mass and species transport through the scaffold and (2) describing its topological features, thus allowing a better evaluation of the overall scaffold performance. However, the evaluation of TE scaffold permeability suffers of a lack of uniformity and standards in measurement and testing procedures which makes the comparison of results obtained in different laboratories unfeasible. In this review paper we summarize the most important features influencing TE scaffold permeability, linking them to the theoretical background. An overview of methods applied for TE scaffold permeability evaluation is given, presenting experimental test benches and computational methods applied (1) to integrate experimental measurements and (2) to support the TE scaffold design process. Both experimental and computational limitations in the permeability evaluation process are also discussed.
Artificial turf is being used more and more often. It is more available than natural turf for use, requires much less maintenance and new products are able to comply with sport performance and athletes' safety. The purpose of this paper is to compare the mechanical and biomechanical responses of two different artificial turf infills (styrene butadiene rubber, from granulated vehicle tires, and thermoplastic rubber granules) and to compare them to the performance of natural fields where amateurs play (beaten earth, substantially). Three mechanical parameters have been calculated from laboratory tests: energy storage, energy losses and surface traction coefficient; results have been correlated with peak accelerations recorded on an instrumented athlete, on the field. The natural ground proved to be stiffer (-15% penetration depth for a given load), and to have a lower dynamic traction coefficient (-48%); the different kinds of infill showed significantly different stiffnesses (varying by more than 23%) and damping behaviour (varying by more than 31%). In running, peak vertical accelerations were lowest in the artificial ground with thermoplastic rubber granules, while, in slalom, both artificial grounds produced higher horizontal peak accelerations compared to the natural ground. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for athletic performance and injury risk.
A versatile bioreactor suitable for dynamic suspension cell culture under tunable shear stress conditions has been developed and preliminarily tested culturing cancer cell spheroids. By adopting simple technological solutions and avoiding rotating components, the bioreactor exploits the laminar hydrodynamics establishing within the culture chamber enabling dynamic cell suspension in an environment favourable to mass transport, under a wide range of tunable shear stress conditions. The design phase of the device has been supported by multiphysics modelling and has provided a comprehensive analysis of the operating principles of the bioreactor. Moreover, an explanatory example is herein presented with multiphysics simulations used to set the proper bioreactor operating conditions for preliminary in vitro biological tests on a human lung carcinoma cell line. The biological results demonstrate that the ultralow shear dynamic suspension provided by the device is beneficial for culturing cancer cell spheroids. In comparison to the static suspension control, dynamic cell suspension preserves morphological features, promotes intercellular connection, increases spheroid size (2.4-fold increase) and number of cycling cells (1.58-fold increase), and reduces double strand DNA damage (1.5-fold reduction). It is envisioned that the versatility of this bioreactor could allow investigation and expansion of different cell types in the future.
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