Tissue engineering is a rapidly growing industry that aims to improve, replicate, and replace different tissue types. This is usually done by seeding new cells onto a scaffold and then allowing the cells to grow into and around the scaffold. Tissue engineering research is quickly beginning to depend on the use of perfusion bioreactors, which aid the transport of vital compounds to cells that have been embedded in a scaffold. Bioreactors often need to be kept in closed off conditions to avoid contaminating the cells, but if they are in the bioreactor for  an extended period of time, they need additional support. Peristaltic pumps can be used to transfer media and nutrients into the bioreactor. This transport of compounds works to keep cells alive and allow for biomimetic cell behavior. A single flow peristaltic pump costs upward of two hundred dollars, and multi-flow pumps cost thousands of dollars. These machines are bulky, need training to use, and have certain pre-set operating conditions. These machines do not contain anyway to regulate the pressure in the outlet tubes either. This can make it difficult to control the media that is delivered to the cells, and even more difficult to determine if the cells are getting the nutrients that they need. There is a large need for a new type of system that is more affordable and efficient.

The multichannel peristaltic pump system currently used within the Bellan Lab at Vanderbilt University can only accommodate 6 stepper motors. Dr. Leon Bellan has previously developed an Arduino-based multichannel pump system to transport media to cell-laden hydrogel scaffolds. This project aims to design a multichannel peristaltic pump system with an expansion of 18 additional motors in addition to inline non-contact flow sensors. Our project will continue his work and focus on adding to and advancing the system to enable high-throughput bioreactor experiments that provide real-time flow information for each pump channel.