One of the major costliest diseases is osteoarthritis, which affects one tenth of all Americans. The focal articular cartilage defect is one of the main causes of osteoarthritis. It starts as a small defect and can lead to a widespread degradation of articular cartilage causing pain and limited joint movement. This proposal aims to identify opportunities and realize commercialization potential of the polymer based osteochondral scaffold (an osteochondral scaffold with biodegradable polymeric materials) for the repair of focal defects in the articular cartilage.
The osteochondral scaffold consists of an outer shell and an inside core. The outer shell is composed of sintered microspheres of composite polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly-lactic glycolic acid (PLGA) for protection of the growing tissue from mechanical stresses. The inside core has two porous PCL spiral scaffolds laden with PCL nanofibers for cartilage and bone regeneration. The cartilage portion of the scaffold takes advantage of several novel features such as dually aligned nanofibers and functionalization of PCL with chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid to morphologically and functionally reproduce the actual hyaline cartilage extracellular matrix. Through this design, the scaffold can create tissue that can best mimic the real physiological properties of normal cartilage. Through the proposed scaffold, physiologically functional articular cartilage including the underlying bone can be regenerated. Moreover, with the outer porous microsphere shell, the scaffold will be able to sustain physiological loads while protecting the growing tissues, allowing the patient to return to normal movement quicker. The scaffold will be able to help people return to their normal lifestyle without the need for further procedures.
