A Roller-Loading Bioreactor System for Researching Cartilage Mechanobiology

Abstract With the aging of human society and the rapid development of transportation industry, the disease rates of bone and joint are also in constant increase, making the biological healing and regeneration of articular cartilage as a core issue of joint surgery in basic and clinical. In general, the regeneration capacity of articular cartilage injury difficult to selfrepair is considered to be limited. At present, many new technologies and methods have been used for clinical treatment, but it only can relieve the pain of the patients. Human knee joint has two main movement patterns: rolling and sliding. Rolling, as a typical representative of the articular cartilage, is very similar to the mechanical environment in vivo. Accordingly, we first proposed and developed this rolling depression loading device with perfusion system for the mechanobiology researching on in vitro articular cartilage, which includes rolling control system, compression adjusting system and circulating perfusion system. The innovation of the biological reactor is the combination of the rolling loading system and circulation of grouting system. The roll controlling system is achieved by roller rolling back and forth through stepper motor driving screw rod. The compressive system could produce uniform, controlled compressions by relatively sliding of two wedge blocks. The circulating perfusion system is mainly finished by controlling the peristaltic pump. It can provide an environment which is closer to the normal physiological condition of articular cartilage. Rolling depression loading is useful to clarify the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and apply biomechanical factors to prevent and treat osteoarthritis and repair cartilage. This device is small enough to work in the general culture box, and we will test it with biological experiment in future.