Quantifying Distortion Energy in Collagen Matrices Subjected to Complex Loads Using a Biaxial Bioreactor

To test mechanobiology theories, bioreactors are used to apply various loads to cellularized constructs. A novel application of biaxial bioreactors is to apply controlled states of stress to study the effect of strain energy (hydrostatic and distortion) on cellular behavior. The research objective was to validate a method of subjecting 3D constructs to differing magnitudes of distortion while maintaining a targeted strain energy. The bioreactor was able to apply a single magnitude of strain energy with an average error of 4 ± 3%. To our knowledge, this is the first study to control total strain energy in a 3D construct.