Bioreactors in Regenerative Medicine

The potential to revolutionize healthcare through regenerative medicine is widely recognized from a clinical perspective. This branch of medicine, regenerates, replaces or repairs damaged or diseased cells, tissues or organs. To facilitate cell or tissue growth, associated enabling technologies such as bioreactors are required to provide the physiological environment for cells to multiply and/or produce therapeutic material. Such technologies are necessary to ensure the cost-effective manufacture of therapies to treat patients. Regenerative medicine poses a myriad of challenges for bioreactor engineering. From a tissue engineering perspective, although two-dimensional tissue structures, for example, skin grafting are feasible, the ability to overcome diffusional limitations of nutrient transport within thick 3D tissue constructs is critical to developing functional tissue. In the stem cell therapy arena, cells respond to biochemical and biophysical cues for differentiation and functional tissue development. Adding to the complexity of bioreactor design and operation, the future of enabling technologies for regenerative medicine is exciting, not only because of the clinical indications now being targeted, but also the new and interesting engineering challenges that need to be overcome to translate these therapies to the patient. This article will explore a range of regenerative medicine therapies in the context of bioreactor technology. The novel applications of bioreactor technology from organ re-cellularization to drug screening will be delineated.