Flexural Properties of Native and Tissue‐Engineered Human Septal Cartilage

Abstract

Objective To determine and compare the bending moduli of native and engineered human septal cartilage. Study Design Prospective, basic science. Setting Research laboratory. Subjects and Methods Neocartilage constructs were fabricated from expanded human septal chondrocytes cultured in differentiation medium for 10 weeks. Constructs (n=10) and native septal cartilage (n=5) were tested in a 3-point bending apparatus, and the bending moduli were calculated using Euler–Bernoulli beam theory. Results All samples were tested successfully and returned to their initial shape after unloading. The bending modulus of engineered constructs (0.32 ± 0.25 MPa, mean ± SD) was 16% of that of native septal cartilage (1.97 ± 1.25 MPa). Conclusion Human septal constructs, fabricated from cultured human septal chondrocytes, are more compliant in bending than native human septal tissue. The bending modulus of engineered septal cartilage can be measured, and this modulus provides a useful measure of construct rigidity while undergoing maturation relative to native tissue.

Toward tissue-engineering of nasal cartilages

“…This usage is likely due to the availability of septal remnants from rhinoplasty surgeries. Low-passage (up to P3) human nasal septal chondrocytes have shown the capability to produce neocartilage containing GAG and type II collagen [89,90,99,[105][106][107]. It has also been suggested that the superficial zone of septal cartilage contains a promising population of nasoseptal progenitor cells (NSPs) [108].…”

“…However, similar to their prominence in articular cartilage engineering, scaffold-free techniques are the most commonly used tissue formation strategy for nasal cartilage. Passaged chondrocytes frequently undergo culture in alginate, dissociation, and seeding into Transwell plates to form neocartilage [72,90,99,106,107,117].…”

Nanomaterials for cartilage tissue engineering

“…The classical tissue engineering approach is to seed isolated cells onto scaffolds and to cultivate the cell / scaffold constructs in a bioreactor ( Figure 3) and / or in the presence of stimulatory factors. Thus far, engineered cartilage constructs have unsatisfactory mechanical properties and collagen contents much less than native tissue [40,41]. For example, the flexural modulus of engineered nasal constructs is typically less than half of that of the native nasal cartilage [40].…”

“…Thus far, engineered cartilage constructs have unsatisfactory mechanical properties and collagen contents much less than native tissue [40,41]. For example, the flexural modulus of engineered nasal constructs is typically less than half of that of the native nasal cartilage [40]. The proper stiffness is important for the engineered cartilaginous tissues to maintain their structure.…”

5 Fundamentals of Tissue Engineering

“…13,14,15 Tensile testing provides a measure of strength and stiffness by recording its resistance to stretch. Compression testing, on the other hand, provides a measure of load-bearing ability.…”