Technologies

This osteochondral construct is seeded with mesenchymal stem cells to encourage repair of cartilage and subchondral bone in synovial joints. The global market for tissue engineering and regeneration is expected to grow from $13.6 billion in 2016 to $60.8 billion in 2021, in part due to the 5.4 million patients projected to require joint and cartilage regeneration procedures by 2019 in the United States. Currently, many patients are living with pain caused by osteoarthritis until it progresses to require total joint replacement or they are old enough to become candidates for the surgery. For patients with moderate pain, there are no treatments providing 100 percent repair of the cartilage and subchondral bone damaged by osteoarthritis. Cartilage transplants and scaffold plugs, the current standard of care, do not integrate well with surrounding bone and cartilage. Clemson University researchers have developed an anchored biphasic osteochondral construct that encourages bone and articular cartilage repair and cell growth.

Technical Summary

This biphasic construct has two parts: a top and bottom portion. The top portion, or cartilage portion, is made of alginate and has a surrounding ring of high friction material to provide enhanced fixation. The bottom, or bone portion, is made of a co-polymer with hydroxyapatite, and has a barbed pin extending below to anchor the construct to surrounding bone. A bundle of specialized fibers runs through the middle to allow fluid transport to the interior of the scaffold, or a large bundle that serves as the entire bone portion. Furthermore, the construct can be seeded with mesenchymal stem cells that can be differentiated towards cartilage and bone cells.