An electrical stimulation-based bioreactor as a platform for in vitro stem cell conditioning analysis

In this work, we present the design of an electrical stimulation-based bioreactor capable of delivering different and highly controlled electrical stimuli to the culture environment. The device represents an in vitro platform allowing examining selectively the effects of different stimulation patterns on stem cells behaviour. In the design stage, we used a computational approach, aimed at establishing operating conditions delivering a desired uniform electric field distribution within the cell- seeded surface of the culture chamber. The device was validated through in vitro tests exploiting the possibility to promote commitment of adipose-derived stem cellsand human cardiac progentiro cells toward the cardiac phenotype.