The long-term objective of the project is the development of tissue engineered cartilage grown in vitro from isolated cadaveric donor chondrocytes grown on bioresorbable scaffolds for the treatment of human articular cartilage defects. This proposal focuses on modulating improving the biochemical and biomechanical properties of tissue engineered cartilage by applying mechanical loading (uniaxial dynamic confined compression) during the in vitro cultivation period. The hypothesis is that the application of mechanical loading during cartilage synthesis will result in an engineered cartilage construct with the structural and functional properties similar to that of native cartilage tissue. A tissue strain bioreactor will be modified into a uniaxial compression system and various mechanical loading parameters will be screened for effects on cellular activity, matrix deposition and mechanical properties.
A tissue strain bioreactor can be used for the manufacture of tissue engineered cartilage for articular and cartilage for articular and crainofacial clinical application.
