In vitro dynamic culture of cell-biomaterial constructs

In the last years, the interest in bioreactors is constantly increasing in several fields of bioengineering and for various applications, thanks to the progresses in technology, engineering, stem cell biology, and material science. At different levels and for various applications bioreactors can be used in research as actuator systems (i.e., to apply complex stimuli to cells in dynamic culture), as model systems to study the development of biological tissues, or as systems to monitor the developmental parameters. Exploiting the potentiality of bioreactors, the biomedical industry invested in developing reliable and automated devices for 2D or 3D cell culture, having specific features such as modularity, scalability, and process traceability, to make bioreactors essential tools for the development of safe and reproducible biological constructs and for the study of new therapeutic drugs. Thanks to the efforts of researchers and industry, bioreactors can potentially be applied in the clinics for the development of products for Advanced Therapies, acting as automatic platforms for the economically and clinically sustainable fabrication of bioprocesses and cell products. This chapter is focused on the analysis of the translation of bioreactors from research to clinical application, providing information on the fundamental features and issues, as well as practical examples of devices design at each stage of development.