A new flow chamber for the study of shear stress and transmural pressure upon cells adhering to a porous biomaterial.

Biomaterials used in some biomedical devices are porous and exposed to normal and tangential flow of biofluids. To examine the influence of flow induced forces on the morphology and the biochemical responses of cells adhering to such biomaterials, a Hele-Shaw cell with a porous bottom wall was designed and characterized experimentally. Theoretical predictions for the flow in the chamber are provided and allow to quantify the shear stress and/or transmural pressure exerted on cells. It is thus possible to follow up continuously the shape changes of cells that are adherent on a permeable membrane used in bioreactors.