Abstract Summary/Description
Tissue engineering scaffolds consist of pores lined with cells through which a nutrient-filled fluid passes. Over time, cells consume the nutrients and proliferate, causing the pores to shrink until they completely fill with tissue. Existing literature has investigated the effects of nutrient flow rate, nutrient concentration, cell hunger rate, scaffold elasticity, and shear stress on cell proliferation within cylindrically shaped pores. In this work, we aim to model tissue growth considering all factors simultaneously while utilizing a different scaffold geometry. Specifically, we consider a branching structure; a scaffold which begins as a cylinder but repeatedly bifurcates over the length of the scaffold. Our objectives are the following: (i) develop a model of cell proliferation which includes nutrient flow dynamics and concentration, cell hunger, and scaffold elasticity; (ii) solve the model and then simulate the cell proliferation process; and (iii) optimize the initial configuration of the scaffold channels to maximize the cell growth. The results of this study are key to adapting the equations governing cell proliferation to more complex geometries, ones which can more accurately represent scaffolds used in experimental tissue engineering.
