Discipline: Technology and Engineering
Subcategory: Materials Science
Session: 4
Antwan Parker - University of Alabama
Co-Author(s): Derrick Dean; Alabama State University
Our work is focused on fabricating a three dimensional bioactive scaffold that mimics the structure and properties of articular cartilage. Our hypothesis is that scaffolds which mimic the structure and composition of the extracellular matrix will be effective in regenerating tissue. Articular cartilage has a complex structure, and it must withstand significant mechanical stresses. In addition, lack of vasculature makes it very challenging to repair articular cartilage once it becomes damaged. Although there are a number of clinical and non-clinical approaches to repair or replace articular cartilage, engineered synthetic cartilage could hold great potential for helping to solve this big problem(over 20 million individuals suffer from cartilage damage). We have manufactured polycaprolactoine (PCL) foams to mimic the structure and properties of articular cartilage. Foams were prepared by dispersing hydroxyapatite, HA or bioglass (BG) into PCL solutions, which were then cast to form the foams. The porosity was developed using a particulate leaching method to remove sugar crystals. Percentages of the HA and BG ranged from 1 to 5%. The composition of the scaffold and the foams was confirmed confirmed by FT-IR, which featured a strong peak at 1730 cm-1, attributed to the carbonyl group in PCL and a peak at 1040 cm-1, due to the P-O bond in HA and BG, and the crystallinity confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The crystallinity was highest for the HA samples. Dynamic mechanical analysis of the sample indicated that the samples containing 3 wt% of HA and BG exhibited a modulus of 0.3 GPa, which was close to the published of 0.4 GPa for cartilage. The average strength of these particular samples was 10 Mpa, which agrees well with the value for non-load bearing cartilage. The published strength for load-bearing cartilage is 14.8 MPa. Future work will examine a wider range of percentages of HA and BG. In conclusion, We have fabricated hybrid, three dimensional scaffolds that mimic the structure of articular cartilage. We have also manufactured three foams to mimic the structure of knee cartilage. The composition of the scaffold and the foams are confirmed by FT-IR and the crystallinity confirmed by DSC. Our modules was 0.3 GPa. The published modulus for PCL was 0.4 GPa. Our strength was at 10 Mpa, which agrees well with the value for non-load bearing cartilage. The published strength for load-bearing cartilage is 14.8 MPa
. References: 1. S. J. Stanley, Porous scaffold design for tissue engineering, Nat Mater. 2005 Jul;4(7):518-24.; 2. Zhen Cao, Ce Dou, and Shiwu Dong, Scaffolding Biomaterials for Cartilage Regeneration, Journal of Nanomaterials, Volume 2014 (2014).
Funder Acknowledgement(s): This study was supported, in part, by a grant from NSF/CBET 1510479 awarded to Derrick Dean PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL 36101.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): This study was supported, in part, by a grant from NSF/CBET 1510479 awarded to Derrick Dean PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL 36101.
Faculty Advisor: Derrick Dean, ddean@alasu.edu
Role: I did the sample fabrication and their characterization.