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Development, Characterization and Cell‐Seeding of a Novel Biocompatible Scaffold for Tendon and Ligament Reconstruction
Author(s) -
Whitlock Patrick W.,
Smith Thomas L.,
Shilt Jeffrey S.,
Poehling Gary G.,
Van Dyke Mark E.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a268-c
Subject(s) - decellularization , scaffold , biomedical engineering , tendon , biocompatible material , ligament , tissue engineering , cellular infiltration , in vivo , infiltration (hvac) , transplantation , materials science , chemistry , anatomy , inflammation , medicine , surgery , biology , immunology , composite material , microbiology and biotechnology
Tissue‐engineered tendon scaffolds have the potential to significantly improve the treatment of tendon and ligament injuries, especially those associated with tumor, trauma, and congenital deficiencies where autograft or allograft tissue might not be available in sufficient quantity for reconstruction. Ideally, such a scaffold would be: naturally‐derived from allogeneic material, decellularized to decrease inflammatory potential and host immune response, biocompatible, characterized by sufficient porosity/micro‐architecture to allow seeding/infiltration of the patient's own cells prior to/after implantation, and distinguished by sufficient biomechanical integrity to withstand rehabilitation until complete remodeling has occurred. The goal of this study was to employ a simple process that combines decellularization and chemical oxidation to decellularize and modify the dense architecture of the tendon in order to expose the underlying substructure. Results: A tissue‐engineered scaffold was produced that: has significantly decreased DNA content quantitatively, as well as decreased/absent cellular material histologically, is biocompatible in vitro has significant alterations in the micro‐architecture, specifically porosity, retains approximately 75% of the biomechanical properties of fresh‐frozen FDP tendon, is successfully seeded with cells in vitro , and is readily infiltrated by fibroblast‐like host cells in vivo as early as 3 days.