Abstract
Scaffolds for articular cartilage repair have to be optimally biodegradable with simultaneous promotion of hyaline cartilage formation under rather complex biomechanical and physiological conditions. It has been generally accepted that scaffold structure and composition would be the best when it mimics the structure of native cartilage. However, a reparative construct mimicking the mature native tissue in a healing tissue site presents a biological mismatch of reparative stimuli. In this work, we studied a new recombinant human type III collagen-polylactide (rhCol-PLA) scaffolds. The rhCol-PLA scaffolds were assessed for their relative performance in simulated synovial fluids of 1 and 4 mg/mL sodium hyaluronate with application of model-free analysis with Biomaterials Enhanced Simulation Test (BEST). Pure PLA scaffold was used as a control. The BEST results were compared to the results of a prior in vivo study with rhCol-PLA. Collectively the data indicated that a successful articular cartilage repair require lower stiffness of the scaffold compared to surrounding cartilage yet matching the strain compliance both in static and dynamic conditions. This ensures an optimal combination of load transfer and effective oscillatory nutrients supply to the cells. The results encourage further development of intelligent scaffold structures for optimal articular cartilage repair rather than simply trying to imitate the respective original tissue.
Highlights
The need to develop tissue substitutes and regeneration platforms is one of the most demanding and challenging applications in modern tissue engineering (Hubbell, 1995; Burdick and Mauck, 2011)
The recombinant human collagen-laden (rhCol)-PLA scaffolds were assessed for their relative performance in simulated synovial fluids for mimicking both human and veterinary conditions with application of model-free analysis with Biomaterials Enhanced Simulation Test (BEST)
The exact values are not explicitly required because the DMA device and sample holder dynamics have been recalibrated for every type of simulated synovial fluid (SSF), and media viscosity changes have been automatically included in the test data
Summary
The need to develop tissue substitutes and regeneration platforms is one of the most demanding and challenging applications in modern tissue engineering (Hubbell, 1995; Burdick and Mauck, 2011). Three-dimensional biomaterial structures (scaffolds) are highly desirable matching the biomechanical properties of the tissue (Gomes and Reis, 2004) and closely mimicking in vivo behavior [facilitating cell adhesion, growth, and tissue formation (Volfson et al, 2008)]. Such biomaterials assist the body to rebuild the damaged tissue and eventually they minimize associated. As pointed out recently (Panadero et al, 2016), the synergetic effect of correct mechanical stimulation is greatly dependent on the scaffolding material, its environment and the cell presence This shows the needs for consistent simultaneous analysis to compare different biomaterials and to get conclusions about these features
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