cartilage tissue engineering

Loss of cartilage regardless of the cause is problematic because of the extremely limited repair capacity of the tissue. Cartilage transplantation has never met success because of the scarcity of donor sites and the associated morbidity in the harvest procedures. It is known that the functional properties of cartilage are mainly dependent on its extracellular matrix (ECM) components. One common strategy involves the incorporation of different biomaterials, such as synthetic and natural polymers, to mimic the real ECM of this tissue. Niche signaling influences the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation to chondrocytes. This microenvironment, or niche, could be established by a welldesigned polymeric scaffold together with the appropriate growth factor. Because cartilage is composed mainly of water, devices intended for its substitution or tissue regeneration should be made of a material that can hold large amounts of water and should also have good handling properties to withstand loads imparted by the cells and ECM during in vitro culturing.

In recent years, different types of biocompatible biomaterials have used to repair cartilage damage by stem cells. Generally, cell activity is maintained inside a three‐dimensional scaffold. Synthetic hydrogels with suitable physical and chemical properties considered as tissue engineering scaffolds and are a model for the differentiation of stem cells and the interaction between cells and the extracellular matrix. In cartilage repair, using noninvasive methods to transfer cells or release biologically active molecules into the lesion site is recommended.

This course provides an overview of:

•Cartilage structure

•Cartilage damage

•Cartilage tissue engineering

•Cells in cartilage tissue engineering

•Scaffolds in cartilage tissue engineering

•Growth factors in cartilage tissue engineering

This course can be useful for students of tissue engineering, polymer and medical engineering and interested in this field.

Who this course is for:

• biomaterial engineers
• polymer engineers
• medical engineers
• Anyone interested in this field