Effect of environmental fluctuations on the dynamic composition of engineered cartilage: A deterministic model in stochastic environment

Dynamics of extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and scaffold degradation in cell–polymer constructs have been studied in a random fluctuating environment created due to the applications of growth factors into the in vitro generation of cartilaginous constructs. Existing models of cell–polymer constructs for the design of engineered cartilage have been discussed and then a new deterministic scheme in random environment proposed taking into account the effects of growth factors as the environmental variability in the form of Gaussian white noise. Steady-state probability distribution of each individual component of the ECM in its homeostasis is found explicitly. The computer-simulated results of the model have been discussed and then compared with the data from a variety of scaffold systems and culture conditions.