Premium
Synthetic Poly(Vinylalcohol)‐Based Membranes for Cartilage Surgery and Repair
Author(s) -
Tai Benjamin C. U.,
Du Chan,
Gao Shujun,
Wan Andrew C. A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
biotechnology journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.144
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1860-7314
pISSN - 1860-6768
DOI - 10.1002/biot.201700134
Subject(s) - mesenchymal stem cell , chondrogenesis , membrane , cartilage , biomedical engineering , stem cell , chemistry , osteoarthritis , tissue engineering , materials science , cell , microbiology and biotechnology , biophysics , anatomy , biochemistry , biology , pathology , medicine , alternative medicine
Cell‐based therapies for cartilage repair are continually being developed to treat osteoarthritis. The cells are either introduced directly by intra‐articular injection or via a cell‐seeded matrix scaffold. Here, poly(vinylalcohol)‐based membranes are developed to be used for mesenchymal stem cell implantation in cartilage repair procedures, having controllable physicochemical properties such as porosity, mechanical strength, and permeability, and a unique self‐sealing property. The membranes possess a bilayer structure with a less porous layer providing mechanical strength and selective permeability, exhibit an elastic modulus of between 0.3 and 0.9 MPa, and are permeable to molecules <40 kDa, which is in the range of cartilage permeability. Three different peptide ligands with the sequences Ac‐GCGYGRGDSPG, Ac‐GCG(OPG)4REGOFG(OPG)4, and Ac‐GCG(OPG)7, respectively, are conjugated to the membranes and subject to in vitro cell adhesion and differentiation assays. Col I/Col II gene expression ratios indicated that the collagen‐mimetic peptide, Ac‐GCG(OPG)7, best supported mesenchymal stem cell differentiation into the chondrogenic lineage. Although low retention of the membrane is observed in vivo in a rabbit knee model, results suggest that the membrane was able to facilitate mesenchymal stem cell implantation and differentiation to chondrocytes. These PVA‐based membranes provide a feasible, synthetic, off‐the‐shelf material for the delivery of stem cells, and can be modified for other surgical applications.