We present a modeling and computational approach to study fusion of multicellular aggregates during tissue and organ fabrication, which forms the foundation for the scaffold-less biofabrication of tissues and organs known as bioprinting. It is known as the phase field method, where multicellular aggregates are modeled as mixtures of multiphase complex fluids whose phase mixing or separation is governed by interphase force interactions, mimicking the cell-cell interaction in the multicellular aggregates, and intermediate range interaction mediated by the surrounding hydrogel. The material transport in the mixture is dictated by hydrodynamics as well as forces due to the interphase interactions. In a multicellular aggregate system with fixed number of cells and fixed amount of the hydrogel medium, the effect of cell differentiation, proliferation, and death are neglected in the current model, which can be readily included in the model, and the interaction between different components is dictated by the interaction energy between cell and cell as well as between cell and medium particles, respectively. The modeling approach is applicable to transient simulations of fusion of cellular aggregate systems at the time and length scale appropriate to biofabrication. Numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate fusion and cell sorting during tissue and organ maturation processes in biofabrication.
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July 2013
Research-Article
A Phase Field Approach for Multicellular Aggregate Fusion in Biofabrication
Yi Sun,
Yi Sun
e-mail: yisun@math.sc.edu
Department of Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute,
Department of Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute,
University of South Carolina
,Columbia, SC 29208
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Qi Wang
Qi Wang
1
Department of Mathematics,
Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute, and NanoCenter at USC,
Columbia,
School of Mathematics,
Tianjin, 300071, China
e-mail: qwang@math.sc.edu
Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute, and NanoCenter at USC,
University of South Carolina
,Columbia,
SC 29208
;School of Mathematics,
Nankai University
,Tianjin, 300071, China
e-mail: qwang@math.sc.edu
1Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
Xiaofeng Yang
e-mail: xfyang@math.sc.edu
Yi Sun
e-mail: yisun@math.sc.edu
Department of Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute,
Department of Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute,
University of South Carolina
,Columbia, SC 29208
Qi Wang
Department of Mathematics,
Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute, and NanoCenter at USC,
Columbia,
School of Mathematics,
Tianjin, 300071, China
e-mail: qwang@math.sc.edu
Interdisciplinary Mathematics Institute, and NanoCenter at USC,
University of South Carolina
,Columbia,
SC 29208
;School of Mathematics,
Nankai University
,Tianjin, 300071, China
e-mail: qwang@math.sc.edu
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Bioengineering Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICAL ENGINEERING. Manuscript received February 3, 2013; final manuscript received March 20, 2013; accepted manuscript posted April 4, 2013; published online June 11, 2013. Assoc. Editor: Keith Gooch.
J Biomech Eng. Jul 2013, 135(7): 071005 (9 pages)
Published Online: June 11, 2013
Article history
Received:
February 3, 2013
Revision Received:
March 20, 2013
Accepted:
April 4, 2013
Citation
Yang, X., Sun, Y., and Wang, Q. (June 11, 2013). "A Phase Field Approach for Multicellular Aggregate Fusion in Biofabrication." ASME. J Biomech Eng. July 2013; 135(7): 071005. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4024139
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