Development of decellularized osteochondral graft

• Main Author: Ng, Stephanie Hui Hsin
• Other Authors: Wang Dongan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Bioengineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/75179
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Articular cartilage in the knee join is essential for smooth movement and provide protection to the joints from high shear forces. However, cartilage has poor self-regenerating abilities due to its avascular and aneural properties. Cartilage damage can lead to pain, swelling and even osteoarthritis. Current treatments include surgery, steroid injections, glucosamine with or without chondroitin, mosaicplasy and autologous chondrocyte implantation which provides unsatisfactory results in the long term. Therefore, tissue engineering method is used to combine cells, scaffold and micro-environment to restore articular cartilage function to damaged cartilage area through the development of an osteochondral graft. Osteochondral grafts have gained popularity over the years and have shown significant improvements and benefits compared to current treatments. Therefore, the aim of this project was to develop a decellularized osteochondral construct to enhance the repair treatment for knee damage. The osteochondral graft consists of a cartilage layer and a bone layer which was constructed using sintered microspheres scaffold. Poly-(Lactide-co-glycolide)-acid (PLGA) microspheres were firstly fabricated followed by heat sintering to form a porous scaffold. Then, the cartilaginous layer and sintered microspheres scaffold layer were combined to obtain the fabrication of an osteochondral graft. Finally, the osteochondral graft was subjected to the decellularization process.