Loading...

Design and Fabrication of a Multi-Layered Scaffold for Osteochondral Tissue Engineering

Abbasi, Ali | 2025

0 Viewed
  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 58558 (06)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Mashayekhan, Shohreh; Abdekhodaie, Mohammad Jafar
  7. Abstract:
  8. Millions of people worldwide suffer from cartilage degradation and its related disorders. The most severe form is osteochondral defect, where the underlying bone is also damaged. In addition to conventional treatments such as bone marrow stimulation and osteochondral grafts, biomaterial-based scaffolds have recently entered clinical applications. Due to the high regenerative potential of osteochondral tissue engineering, it has become an extensive area of research. The target tissue exhibits a gradient in structure, mechanical properties, materials, and biochemical factors; thus, the designed scaffolds also possess gradient characteristics. This study aimed to fabricate a bilayer scaffold with structural and mechanical property gradients. The bone layer was fabricated by sintering of polycaprolactone (PCL) microspheres, followed by collagen coating to enhance cellular response. FTIR, SEM, and EDAX analyses confirmed proper collagen coating on the PCL scaffold. The cartilage scaffold was composed of a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and alginate hydrogel, crosslinked through freeze-thaw cycles and subjected to the Hofmeister effect via sodium sulfate solution. The addition of alginate to PVA increased pore size from ~1 μm to ~20 μm without compromising mechanical properties. Application of the Hofmeister effect enhanced the compressive modulus from 49 ± 5 to 190 ± 29 kPa and compressive strength from 1.09 ± 0.02 to 5.18 ± 0.32 MPa. The swelling ratio of pure PVA hydrogel and the final hydrogel was 491 ± 61% and 234 ± 28%, respectively, indicating anti-swelling behavior of the final scaffold. MTT assay confirmed the scaffold’s support for cell proliferation. SEM images revealed that mesenchymal stem cells showed a fully spread morphology on the bone layer and an oval-shaped morphology on the cartilage layer. Overall, based on the scaffold’s physical characteristics, and the importance of cell morphology on determining cellular differentiation toward chondrogenic and osteogenic lineages, the fabricated bilayer scaffold demonstrates high potential for osteochondral defect repair
  9. Keywords:
  10. Osteochondral Tissue Engineering ; Microspheres ; Polycaprolactone Composite ; Bone Scaffold ; Multi-Layer Scaffold ; Osteochondral Defect

 Digital Object List

 Bookmark

No TOC