Pulsatile perfusion bioreactor for mimicking, controlling, and optimizing blood vessel mechanics

A method of culturing an engineered blood vessels having a lumen and a wall inside a pulsatile perfusion bioreactor, the method comprising:

• inserting the engineered blood vessel to be cultured into a chamber;
• filling the chamber with cell culture media;
• delivering cell culture media through the lumen of the engineered blood vessel via a pump system, wherein the engineered blood vessel is exposed to a composite pressure waveform and a composite flow waveform as the cell culture media is delivered through the lumen, the pump system comprising a steady flow pump and a peristaltic pump, wherein the composite pressure waveform comprises a mean pressure component, a first harmonic frequency pressure component, and a second harmonic frequency pressure component, and wherein the composite flow waveform component comprises a mean flow component, a first harmonic frequency flow component, and a second harmonic frequency flow component;
• measuring axial tensile stress, circumferential tensile stress, shear stress, axial stretch, circumferential stretch, or a combination thereof imparted on the wall of the engineered blood vessel via a mechanical property monitoring system;
• monitoring and adjusting the composite pressure waveform, the composite flow waveform, or a combination thereof to maintain a predetermined axial tensile stress level, a predetermined circumferential stress level, a predetermined shear stress level, a predetermined axial stretch level, a predetermined circumferential stretch level, or a combination thereof via a computer interface.