Tissue engineering cartilage for focal defects

Articular cartilage provides a near frictionless surface for the articulating ends of bones. Cartilage functions to lubricate and transmit compressive forces resulting from joint loading and impact. If damaged, whether by traumatic injury or disease, cartilage lacks the ability for self-repair. This study explores the production of scaffold-free cartilage and investigates the effect of Tissue Growth Technologies’ CartiGen Bioreactor on the cartilage. Chondrocyte and bone marrow-derived stem cell (BMSC) attachment to chitosan is also investigated in hopes of producing a bilayered construct for osteochondral repair. Results demonstrate that culturing of scaffold-free cartilage in the CartiGen bioreactor resulted in an enhancement of the scaffold-free cartilage’s biomechanical and biochemical properties and that the chitosan microspheres were able to successfully support porcine chondrocyte and BMSC attachment. Results from both studies are encouraging for future work involving tissue engineered cartilage.