Review Article

The Application of Bioreactors for Cartilage Tissue Engineering: Advances, Limitations, and Future Perspectives

Table 2

Summary of responses of seed cells to different design factors in bioreactors.

AuthorsCell+scaffold typeDesign conditionLoading parametersResults

Kean et al. [37]Human chondrocytes+porcine devitalized synoviocyte matrix scaffoldLOT5%Promote chondrogenesis
Shearier et al. [38]hMSCs spheroids+scaffold-freeLOT2%
4 days
Maintain stemness
Upregulate the synthesis of ECM components and growth factors
Shi et al. [39]Rat ASCs and chondrocytes+scaffold-freeLOT2%
3 days
Promote chondrogenic differentiation
Enhance proliferation
Yasui et al. [40]Human synovial MSCs+scaffold-freeLOT5%
200 days
Prevent senescence
Promote chondrogenic differentiation
Enhance proliferation
Hwang et al. [41]Human ADSCs+scaffold-freeLOT1%
2 days
Increase migration
Promote chondrogenic differentiation
Decrease osteogenic differentiation
Cheng et al. [53]Rabbit BMSCs+PRF membrane scaffoldHP0.12 MPa
1 h
4 days
Promote proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation
Shahmoradi et al. [54]hBMSCs+human demineralized bone matrix scaffoldCyclic HP5 MPa
0.5 Hz
4 h
7 days
Improve chondrogenic differentiation
Hodder et al. [52]3D cultured chondrocytes+scaffold-freeStatic HP≤5-10 MPa
≥14 days
Improve generation of cartilage
Nazempour et al. [59]Bovine chondrocytes+agarose scaffoldOscillating HP
Fluid shear
0.02 Pa, 21 days for shear
0.5 Hz, 4 MPa, 4 h/day, 15 days for OHP
Protect cartilage
Enhance extracellular matrix synthesis
Theodoropoulos et al. [60]Bovine chondrocytes+cylinders of CPP scaffoldTissue shear90 rpm
28 days
Alter expression of integrin
Grad et al. [61]Bovine chondrocytes+polyurethane scaffoldTissue shear1 Hz
1 h
21 days
Regenerate and maintain functional joint surface
Support mechanical capability
Jonnalagadda et al. [62]Human articular chondrocytes+scaffold-freeOscillating shear1-50 Hz
21 days
Promote hyaline cartilage formation
DiFederico et al. [71]Bovine chondrocytes+agarose
Scaffold
Dynamic compression15% strain
1 Hz
2 days
Upregulate the synthesis of ECM components
Guo et al. [72]hMSCs encapsulated alginate hydrogel beads+scaffold-freeDynamic compression0.5 Hz
0-6813 Pa
21 days
Upregulate the synthesis of ECM components
Promote proliferation
Wang et al. [73]rBMSCs+CS/SF/n-HA scaffoldPeriodic dynamic compression10% strain
0.5 Hz
2 h action + 4 h pause/cycle, 4 cycles/day
14 days
Increase compression modulus
Gamez et al. [75]pBM-MSCs+alginate scaffoldPeriodic dynamic compression10% strain
0.3 Hz
180 cycle (10 mins) action + 10 s pause
1 day
Induce migration
Chong et al. [77]Human osteoarthritic chondrocytes+agarose scaffoldUniaxial dynamic compression20% strain
1 Hz
Sinusoidal waveform
8 days
Enhance biosynthetic activity of osteoarthritic chondrocytes
Ciombor et al. [80]Chondrocytes+scaffold-freePEMFsLow-frequency EMFEnhance the chondrogenic differentiation
Wilmot et al. [81]The cartilage layer of rat joints+scaffold-freePEMFs75 Hz
PEMF
Negative effect on the culture of cartilage tissue
Štolfa et al. [82]Human cartilage tissue+scaffold-freeSMF0.6 T
SMF
Increase metabolic activity
Hsieh et al. [83]Human chondrocyte+scaffold-freeSMF3 T
SMF
Reduce cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis
Zhang et al. [88]Chondrocytes+scaffold-freeLIUS1.5 MHzIncrease the expression of collagen II and inhibit the development of chondrocyte hypertrophy
Hasanova et al. [89]Bovine chondrocytes+chitosan
Scaffold
LIUS5.0 MHzModulate the proliferation and expression of specific genes