A uniaxial cyclic stretch apparatus affected cell proliferation and cell orientation

Abstract

A uniaxial cyclic stretch apparatus is designed and developed for tissue engineering research. The biostretch apparatus employs non-contact electromagnetic force to uniaxial stretch an engineered-tissue construct. A reliable controller is implemented to independently control four stretch parameters: strength, frequency, pattern and duration of the stretch time. The non-contact driving force and the specially designed mounting tray allow researchers to use standard Petri dishes and commercially available CO2 incubators to culture the tissue construct with mechanical stimulus. The apparatus greatly simplifies the culture process over existing biostretch apparatuses. Further, unlike traditional uniaxial stretch apparatuses, which normally fix one side and stretch other side, the new biostretch apparatus can also apply uniaxial stretch from both ends simultaneously. Using the biostretch apparatus, the distribution of strain on the Gelfoam® and GE RTV 6166 silicon scaffold is quantitatively analysed. With this apparatus, the effects on cell proliferation and orientation are also investigated.