We report the key findings from numerical solutions of a model of transport
within an established perfusion bioreactor design. The model includes a
complete formulation of transport with fully coupled convection-diffusion and
scaffold cell attachment. It also includes the experimentally determined
internal (Poly-L-Lactic Acid (PLLA)) scaffold boundary, together with the
external vessel and flow-port boundaries. Our findings, obtained using parallel
lattice Boltzmann equation method, relate to (i) whole-device, steady-state
flow and species distribution and (ii) the properties of the scaffold. In
particular the results identify which elements of the problem may be addressed
by coarse grained methods such as the Darcy approximation and those which
require a more complete description. The work demonstrates that appropriate
numerical modelling will make a key contribution to the design and development
of large scale bioreactors.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
