Research Update on Bioreactors Used in Tissue Engineering

Owing to the paucity of donor organs and their acute rejection by the immune system after transplantation, advanced organ failure is one of the major challenges faced by the medical community. Static culturing used for synthesising tissues and organs cannot simulate the in vivo mechanical and biochemical signals; therefore, such artificial organs fail to maintain effective functional activity following transplantation. Tissue engineering can overcome these hurdles by successfully enabling regeneration of tissues and organs in vitro. Bioreactors are pivotal in the development and generation of engineered biological products. They simulate the in vivo microenvironment of tissue growth while also providing various mechanical stimuli and biochemical signals to stem cells to effectively generate transplantable organs or tissues. Various designs and types of bioreactors, their applications, and future research prospects are summarised, which promote functional tissue engineering.