True or False: Tortuosity is used to describe diffusion and fluid flow in porous media.

Tortuosity indeed describes the complexity of pathways through which diffusion and fluid flow occur in porous media. It is a critical concept in tissue engineering and materials science as it affects how efficiently substances can move through a material, such as hydrogels or scaffolds used for cell growth.

In porous media, tortuosity quantifies the deviation of the actual path taken by a fluid or solute from a straight line. This means that a higher tortuosity value indicates a greater complexity of pathways, which can result in slower diffusion rates and fluid flow. Thus, understanding tortuosity is essential for predicting the behavior of nutrients and waste products in engineered tissues, as well as for optimizing the design of biomaterials.

Recognizing tortuosity's role helps engineers and scientists to design better scaffolds that facilitate effective transport processes, crucial for sustaining cell viability and function in tissue engineering applications.