A hydrogel scaffold is much needed for direct tissue engineering application in arthroscopic repair of water-irrigated cartilage. However, such hydrogels must heal rapidly under water, bond strongly and permanently to surrounding tissue, and maintain sufficient mechanical strength to withstand the hydraulic pressure of arthroscopic irrigation.
About the hydrogel and its study:
So some experts set out to investigate this and create a new injectable hydrogel for cartilage repair.
A team of researchers affiliated with a number of institutions in China has developed an injectable hydrogel for use in repairing damaged cartilage. In his article published in the magazine Science Advances, The group describes how they made their hydrogel, how it can be applied, and how well it worked when tested in mice and pigs.
How does cartilage repair work?
Repair of torn or eroded cartilage has improved dramatically in recent years as scientists have learned to grow chondrocytes (cells that become cartilage) and use them to stimulate the growth of new cartilage.
They are usually grown in patchy structures which are then applied to the area in need of repair. However, a major drawback of such treatment is the need to cut the skin and leave the area to be treated open.
Such treatment can lead to a painful recovery over several months. In this new endeavor, researchers have developed a type of hydrogel that can be used for the same type of treatment without the need for surgery.
ABOUT HYDROGEL AND ITS INNOVATIVE USE …
The hydrogel developed by the team involved the use of light-initiated polymerization as well as light-induced cross-linked organic imine compounds. The result was a gel that could be applied to a scaffold and that hardened only when exposed to UV light.
This meant that a scaffold could be rolled into a very small shape and inserted by injection into the site that needed repair. The gel could then be injected onto the scaffold.
Once in place, all that was needed for the gel to harden into place was to shine an ultraviolet light on the impacted area. The gel would harden in ten seconds allowing the scaffold with its load of chondrocytes to grow new cartilage.
So it was proved
The researchers tested a variety of scaffold shapes using laboratory mice and eventually settled on a star shape. They then tested their gel by injecting several mice and allowing the cartilage to grow for eight weeks.
Later, they tested their approach using pigs that had defective cartilage and monitored cartilage growth using MRI scans. They found that after about six months, the cartilage was restored in the pigs.
More studies are still missing …
The researchers plan to continue testing their hydrogel approach and hope to begin human trials soon; if all goes well, they hope their approach will become a standard cartilage repair treatment.
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