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C ontinuous multilayered composite hydrogel as osteochondral substitute
Author(s) -
Leone G.,
Volpato M. D.,
Nelli N.,
Lamponi S.,
Boanini E.,
Bigi A.,
Magnani A.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.35389
Subject(s) - materials science , composite number , cartilage , differential scanning calorimetry , composite material , scanning electron microscope , biomedical engineering , thermogravimetry , chemical engineering , anatomy , medicine , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
Cartilage is a highly organized avascular soft tissue that assembles from nano‐to macro‐scale to produce a complex structural network. To mimic cartilage tissue, we developed a stable multilayered composite material, characterized by a tailored gradient of mechanical properties. The optimized procedure implies chemical crosslinking of each layer directly onto the previous one and ensures a drastic reduction of the material discontinuities and brittleness. The multilayered composite was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry, and scanning electron microscopy in order to compare its physico‐chemical characteristics with those of cartilage tissue. The rheological behavior of the multilayered composite was similar to that of human cartilage. Finally its cytocompatibility toward chondrocytes and osteoblasts was evaluated. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 103A: 2521–2530, 2015.