A Finite Element Prediction of Cellular Strain in a GAG-Scaffold

Tissue engineering is an emerging area in bioengineering engaging biomaterials, biology and biomechanics. Current in-vitro studies have shown mesenchymal differentiation into specific cellular lineages when using osteoinductive factors [1], though the quantitative understanding of the load transfer process within a cell-seeded scaffold is still relatively unknown. Here, this paper presents a finite element simulation of the cellular-scaffold interaction so that cellular strain and the corresponding strain mechanisms can be evaluated.