The evaluation of a bioactive biomaterial scaffold for the tissue engineering of articular cartilage

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Bilayered tissue-engineered osteochondral (OC) grafts require the integration of two components; a superficial layer consisting of articular cartilage cells encapsulated in a hydrated matrix and an underlying layer comprising a stiffer, porous material to provide mechanical support and integration into the subchondral bone. Bioactive glasses (BG) are bioresorbable materials that have been shown to be osteoinductive and ostoeconductive. They have been put forward as a candidate for the bone layer of tissue engineered OC grafts. This work investigates the use of this material in this application in vivo, and then further elucidates its effect in this application by optimizing its use in vitro prior to implantation. Then we examined the effect of the type of media on the resorption of the scaffold and finally investigated the temporal effects of BG 13-93 as a culture media supplement. Our work showed that BG 13-93 may not be suitable as a bone layer for OC constructs but may instead be useful as a culture media supplement for cartilage tissue engineering purposes.