Figure 5. Properties of cartilage constructs produced using PGA–alginate scaffolds cultured in bioreactors using a constant flow rate of 0.2 mL min⁻¹ (high flow rate), a gradually increasing flow rate of 0.075–0.2 mL min⁻¹ (gradual increase in flow rate), or scaffold pre-culture in T-flasks for 5 days prior to bioreactor culture at a constant flow rate of 0.2 mL min⁻¹ (5-day pre-culture).

(a) Construct wet weight; and (b) number of cells. The scaffolds were seeded using 20×10⁶ cells and cultured for a total of 5 weeks after seeding. The error bars represent standard errors from triplicate bioreactors.