Design and experimental validation of a magnetic device for stem cell culture

Cell culture of bone and tendon tissues requires mechanical stimulation of the cells in order to mimic their physiological state. In the present work, a device has been conceived and developed to generate a controlled magnetic field with a homogeneous gradient in the working space. The design requirement was to maximize the magnetic flux gradient, assuring a minimum magnetizing value in a 15 mm x 15 mm working area, which highly increases the normal operating range of this sort of devices. The objective is to use the machine for two types of biological tests: magnetic irradiation of biological samples and force generation on paramagnetic particles embedded in scaffolds for cell culture. The device has been manufactured and experimentally validated by evaluating the force exerted on magnetic particles in a viscous fluid. Apart from the magnetic validation, the device has been tested for irradiating biological samples. In this case, viability of human dental pulp stem cells has been studied in vitro after electromagnetic field exposition using the designed device. After three days of irradiation treatment, cellular microtissues showed a 59% increase in the viable cell number. Irradiated cells did not show morphological differences when compared with control cells.