Bioprinted Cartilage

Abstract

Abstract Abstract: This chapter chronicles the difficulties in bioprinting any of the three types of cartilage, with emphasis on the articular cartilage, which is so often damaged in our knees and hips. The chapter sets out the disparity between the apparent simplicity of cartilage (no blood vessels, no nerves, and composed of a single, sparse cell type) and the complexity of its zonal architecture (disparate cell structure and orientation in different regions of the same cartilage tissue). The chapter presents examples of the bioprinting of all three cartilage types: articular cartilage (belonging to the hyaline family of cartilage), elastic cartilage (such as is found in our ears), and fibrocartilage (such as the meniscus in our knees). The chapter discusses the promise of decellularized extracellular matrix (which is extracellular matrix—the cells’ immediate environment—with the cells removed) as a bioink.