Effect of a Scaffold Fabricated Thermally from Acetylated PLGA on the Formation of Engineered Cartilage

Abstract

A MHDS has been employed to fabricate 3D scaffolds from PLGA with acetyl endgroups to achieve in vivo regeneration of cartilage tissue. The fabricated acetylated-PLGA scaffold showed open pores and interconnected structures. Rabbit chondrocytes were seeded on the PLGA scaffolds and transplanted immediately into subcutaneous sites of athymic mice. Chondrocytes transplantation with untreated PLGA scaffolds served as a control. Histological analysis of the implants at 4 weeks with H&E staining and alcian blue staining revealed higher extracellular matrix and GAG expression at the neocartilage in the PLGA-6Ac scaffolds than that of the PLGA-6OH scaffold group. This endgroup-modified scaffold may be useful for successful cartilage tissue engineering in orthopedic applications.

Effects of collagen matrix and bioreactor cultivation on cartilage regeneration of a full-thickness critical-size knee joint cartilage defects with subchondral bone damage in a rabbit model

“…The need for improved treatment options for cartilage injuries has encouraged scientists to focus on in vitro implants from isolated chondrocytes [ 17 – 19 ]. Generally, chondrocyte proliferation in vitro with carrier matrices has included collagen gels [ 20 – 23 ], fibrin and hyaluronan [ 7 , 24 , 25 ], polyglycolic acid [ 26 , 27 ], polyurethane microstructures [ 28 , 29 ], and self-assembly in agarose gel [ 30 ].…”

An additive manufacturing-based PCL-alginate-chondrocyte bioprinted scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering

“…A more continuous nutrient supply was provided in the nude mice evaluation compared with the in vitro conditions (Fedorovich et al ., ). Athymic nude mice have a reduced immune system and hence allow the implantation of xenogenic cell sources, such as human chondrocytes (primary nasal septal cartilage), which were used in the present study (Kang et al ., ). Figure f shows macroscopic images of the implants after retrieval from the dorsal subcutaneous space of the nude mice.…”

“…However, the acidic by‐product of PLGA produced during the degradation process could be a major drawback. It was reported that the acidic by‐product of PLGA can cause the degeneration of neocartilage tissue (Kang et al ., ). Hence, various material compositions should be investigated by further research to identify an appropriate material.…”

“…Three types of cell‐printed scaffolds [group I, PCL + alginate gel (no cells); group II, PCL + alginate gel (chondrocytes); and group III, PCL + alginate gel (chondrocytes + TGF β ], with a 24 h residential time in DMEM, were implanted into the dorsal subcutaneous spaces of 7 week‐old female nude mice ( n = 5 implants/group) for 4 weeks (Kang et al ., ). TGF β was added to the alginate–cell mixture at a concentration of 10 ng/ml.…”