Abstract
Tendon is subjected to continuous mechanical loading, which imposes cyclic tensile strain and interstitial fluid shear stress to tenocytes. Although a number of studies have characterized mechanical responses of tenocytes to cyclic tensile strain, only few studies have been performed to examine tenocyte responses to fluid shear stress. The present study proposes a newly fabricated cell culture device using MEMS technologies, which enables to apply cyclic tensile strain or fluid shear stress, or both simultaneously, to tenocytes seeded onto microgrooves. It was confirmed that tenocytes exhibited a similar morphology as observed in vivo. Numerical analysis of flow patterns within the device demonstrated that a wide range of fluid shear stress, including a previously predicted physiological value, could be applied to cells. In summary, the present study developed a novel experimental model, which will reveal further details of tenocyte mechanotransduction events.
