Biodegradable Polymer Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Synthetic polymer scaffolds designed for cell transplantation were reproducibly made on a large scale and studied with respect to biocompatibility, structure and biodegradation rate. Polyglycolic acid (PGA) was extruded and oriented to form 13 μ m diameter fibers with desired tenacity. Textile processing techniques were used to produce fibrous scaffolds with a porosity of 97% and sufficient structural integrity to maintain their dimensions when seeded with isolated cartilage cells (chondrocytes) and cultured in vitro at 37°C for 8 weeks. Cartilaginous tissue consisting of glycosaminoglycan and collagen was regenerated in the shape of the original PGA scaffold. The resulting cell-polymer constructs were the largest grown in vitro to date (1 cm diameter × 0.35 cm thick). Construct mass was accurately predicted by accounting for accumulation of tissue components and scaffold degradation. The scaffold induced chondrocyte differentiation with respect to morphology and phenotype and represents a model cell culture substrate that may be useful for a variety of tissue engineering applications.