Recent Progress in 3D Printing of Elastic and High-Strength Hydrogels for the Treatment of Osteochondral and Cartilage Diseases

Despite considerable progress for the regenerative medicine, repair of full-thickness articular cartilage defects and osteochondral interface remains challenging. This low efficiency is largely due to the difficulties in recapitulating the stratified zonal architecture of articular cartilage and engineering complex gradients for bone-soft tissue interface. This has led to increased interest in three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies in the field of musculoskeletal tissue engineering. Printable and biocompatible hydrogels are attractive materials for 3D printing applications because they not only own high tunability and complexity, but also offer favorable biomimetic environments for live cells, such as porous structure, high water content, and bioactive molecule incorporation. However, conventional hydrogels are usually mechanically weak and brittle, which cannot reach the mechanical requirements for repair of articular cartilage defects and osteochondral interface. Therefore, the development of elastic and high-strength hydrogels for 3D printing in the repairment of cartilage defects and osteochondral interface is crucial. In this review, we summarized the recent progress in elastic and high-strength hydrogels for 3D printing and categorized them into six groups, namely ion bonds interactions, nanocomposites integrated in hydrogels, supramolecular guest–host interactions, hydrogen bonds interactions, dynamic covalent bonds interactions, and hydrophobic interactions. These 3D printed elastic and high-strength hydrogels may provide new insights for the treatment of osteochondral and cartilage diseases.

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Surgical Treatment of Articular Cartilage Defects in the Knee: Are We Winning?

Advances in Orthopedics ◽

10.1155/2012/528423 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

A. R. Memon ◽

J. F. Quinlan

Keyword(s):

Articular Cartilage ◽

Cartilage Regeneration ◽

Current Level ◽

Cartilage Defects ◽

Level Of Evidence ◽

Bone Marrow Stimulation ◽

Marrow Stimulation ◽

Ac Injury ◽

Articular Cartilage Defects ◽

And Cartilage

Articular cartilage (AC) injury is a common disorder. Numerous techniques have been employed to repair or regenerate the cartilage defects with varying degrees of success. Three commonly performed techniques include bone marrow stimulation, cartilage repair, and cartilage regeneration. This paper focuses on current level of evidence paying particular attention to cartilage regeneration techniques.

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Functional hybrid organo-inorganic composite materials of the incorporative type for the recovery of articular cartilage defects

Functional materials ◽

10.15407/fm26.03.609 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

Keyword(s):

Articular Cartilage ◽

Composite Materials ◽

Cartilage Defects ◽

Articular Cartilage Defects ◽

Inorganic Composite

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Activity levels are higher after osteochondral autograft transfer mosaicplasty than after microfracture for articular cartilage defects of the knee: a retrospective comparative study.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.717447889.792802948 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Edilson Forlin

Keyword(s):

Articular Cartilage ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Cartilage Defects ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Osteochondral Autograft ◽

Osteochondral Autograft Transfer ◽

Retrospective Comparative Study ◽

Articular Cartilage Defects

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Overlapping Allografts Provide Superior and More Reliable Surface Topography Matching Than Oblong Allografts: A Computer-Simulated Model Study

The American Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/03635465211003074 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 036354652110030

Author(s):

Hailey P. Huddleston ◽

Atsushi Urita ◽

William M. Cregar ◽

Theodore M. Wolfson ◽

Brian J. Cole ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Articular Cartilage ◽

Surface Topography ◽

Osteochondral Allograft ◽

Cartilage Defects ◽

Radius Of Curvature ◽

Cartilage Surface ◽

3 Dimensional ◽

Cloud Models ◽

And Cartilage ◽

Osteochondral Allografts

Background: Osteochondral allograft transplantation is 1 treatment option for focal articular cartilage defects of the knee. Large irregular defects, which can be treated using an oblong allograft or multiple overlapping allografts, increase the procedure’s technical complexity and may provide suboptimal cartilage and subchondral surface matching between donor grafts and recipient sites. Purpose: To quantify and compare cartilage and subchondral surface topography mismatch and cartilage step-off for oblong and overlapping allografts using a 3-dimensional simulation model. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Human cadaveric medial femoral hemicondyles (n = 12) underwent computed tomography and were segmented into cartilage and bone components using 3-dimensional reconstruction and modeling software. Segments were then exported into point-cloud models. Modeled defect sizes of 17 × 30 mm were created on each recipient hemicondyle. There were 2 types of donor allografts from each condyle utilized: overlapping and oblong. Grafts were virtually harvested and implanted to optimally align with the defect to provide minimal cartilage surface topography mismatch. Least mean squares distances were used to measure cartilage and subchondral surface topography mismatch and cartilage step-off. Results: Cartilage and subchondral topography mismatch for the overlapping allograft group was 0.27 ± 0.02 mm and 0.80 ± 0.19 mm, respectively. In comparison, the oblong allograft group had significantly increased cartilage (0.62 ± 0.43 mm; P < .001) and subchondral (1.49 ± 1.10 mm; P < .001) mismatch. Cartilage step-off was also found to be significantly increased in the oblong group compared with the overlapping group ( P < .001). In addition, overlapping allografts more reliably provided a significantly higher percentage of clinically acceptable (0.5- and 1-mm thresholds) cartilage surface topography matching (overlapping: 100% for both 0.5 and 1 mm; oblong: 90% for 1 mm and 56% for 0.5 mm; P < .001) and cartilage step-off (overlapping: 100% for both 0.5 and 1 mm; oblong: 86% for 1 mm and 12% for 0.5 mm; P < .001). Conclusion: This computer simulation study demonstrated improved topography matching and decreased cartilage step-off with overlapping osteochondral allografts compared with oblong osteochondral allografts when using grafts from donors that were not matched to the recipient condyle by size or radius of curvature. These findings suggest that overlapping allografts may be superior in treating large, irregular osteochondral defects involving the femoral condyles with regard to technique. Clinical Relevance: This study suggests that overlapping allografts may provide superior articular cartilage surface topography matching compared with oblong allografts and do so in a more reliable fashion. Surgeons may consider overlapping allografts over oblong allografts because of the increased ease of topography matching during placement.

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A composite scaffold of Wharton’s jelly and chondroitin sulphate loaded with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells repairs articular cartilage defects in rat knee

Journal of Materials Science Materials in Medicine ◽

10.1007/s10856-021-06506-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Zhong Li ◽

Yikang Bi ◽

Qi Wu ◽

Chao Chen ◽

Lu Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Articular Cartilage ◽

Composite Scaffold ◽

Biomechanical Properties ◽

Cartilage Defects ◽

Human Umbilical Cord ◽

Composite Scaffolds ◽

Articular Cartilage Defects

AbstractTo evaluate the performance of a composite scaffold of Wharton’s jelly (WJ) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) and the effect of the composite scaffold loaded with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) in repairing articular cartilage defects, two experiments were carried out. The in vitro experiments involved identification of the hUCMSCs, construction of the biomimetic composite scaffolds by the physical and chemical crosslinking of WJ and CS, and testing of the biomechanical properties of both the composite scaffold and the WJ scaffold. In the in vivo experiments, composite scaffolds loaded with hUCMSCs and WJ scaffolds loaded with hUCMSCs were applied to repair articular cartilage defects in the rat knee. Moreover, their repair effects were evaluated by the unaided eye, histological observations, and the immunogenicity of scaffolds and hUCMSCs. We found that in vitro, the Young’s modulus of the composite scaffold (WJ-CS) was higher than that of the WJ scaffold. In vivo, the composite scaffold loaded with hUCMSCs repaired rat cartilage defects better than did the WJ scaffold loaded with hUCMSCs. Both the scaffold and hUCMSCs showed low immunogenicity. These results demonstrate that the in vitro construction of a human-derived WJ-CS composite scaffold enhances the biomechanical properties of WJ and that the repair of knee cartilage defects in rats is better with the composite scaffold than with the single WJ scaffold if the scaffold is loaded with hUCMSCs.

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