Experimental-Numerical Design and Evaluation of a Vibration Bioreactor Using Piezoelectric Patches

Abstract

In this present study, we propose a method for exposing biological cells to mechanical vibration. The motive for our research was to design a bioreactor prototype in which in-depth in vitro studies about the influence of vibration on cells and their metabolism can be performed. The therapy of cancer or antibacterial measures are applications of interest. In addition, questions about the reaction of neurons to vibration are still largely unanswered. In our methodology, we used a piezoelectric patch (PZTp) for inducing mechanical vibration to the structure. To control the vibration amplitude, the structure could be excited at different frequency ranges, including resonance and non-resonance conditions. Experimental results show the vibration amplitudes expected for every frequency range tested, as well as the vibration pattern of those excitations. These are essential parameters to quantify the effect of vibration on cell behavior. Furthermore, a numerical model was validated with the experimental results presenting accurate results for the prediction of those parameters. With the calibrated numerical model, we will study in greater depth the effects of different vibration patterns for the abovementioned cell types.

On the quantification of local power densities in a new vibration bioreactor

“…The different natural frequencies of the disk can be seen in this figure. Those natural frequencies are hardly changed when compared to the ones obtained in the previous work [ 1 ] without a petri dish (see Table 1 for further details). The mass added to the disk by the petri dish and by the liquids is negligible with regard to the study’s investigations.…”

“…After demonstrating the suitability of vibration mechanics for the design of vibration bioreactors [ 1 ], we investigate here further the power densities to which cell cultures are exposed. It is shown that our system is of greater suitability for a low frequency range below around 10,000 Hz where increasing power densities are obtainable.…”

“…This study tests the vibration characteristics of a vibration bioreactor design. In a previous study [ 1 ], the proof of concept of resonance vibration was presented. In this study now, the vibration transmission to the liquid medium is studied and quantified.…”

“…Both modal and harmonic analysis are performed using the commercial software Ansys v18. The sensitivity to mesh size was checked in the previous work [ 1 ]. The geometry and the mesh used are shown in Fig 2 .…”

“…In our paper here, we investigate the migration of vibration into petri dishes and culture medium. The investigations build up on our previous work on structural vibration responses [ 1 – 3 ] and cell mechanics [ 4 , 5 ].…”