Composite Three‐Dimensional Woven Scaffolds with Interpenetrating Network Hydrogels to Create Functional Synthetic Articular Cartilage |
| |
Authors: | I‐Chien Liao Franklin T. Moutos Bradley T. Estes Xuanhe Zhao Farshid Guilak |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA;2. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27708, USA |
| |
Abstract: | The development of synthetic biomaterials that possess mechanical properties mimicking those of native tissues remains an important challenge to the field of materials. In particular, articular cartilage is a complex nonlinear, viscoelastic, and anisotropic material that exhibits a very low coefficient of friction, allowing it to withstand millions of cycles of joint loading over decades of wear. Here, a three‐dimensionally woven fiber scaffold that is infiltrated with an interpenetrating network hydrogel can build a functional biomaterial that provides the load‐bearing and tribological properties of native cartilage. An interpenetrating dual‐network “tough‐gel” consisting of alginate and polyacrylamide was infused into a porous three‐dimensionally woven poly(?‐caprolactone) fiber scaffold, providing a versatile fiber‐reinforced composite structure as a potential acellular or cell‐based replacement for cartilage repair. |
| |
Keywords: | osteoarthritis tissue engineering hydrogels synthetic cartilage 3D weaving scaffolds |
|
|