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Biomimetic ECM-Based Hybrid Scaffold for Cartilage Tissue Engineering Applications

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Abstract

Conventional methods have failed to show the ability of articular cartilage to completely restore. Decellularized extracellular matrix has achieved interest as a potential biomaterial for cartilage tissue engineering approaches. The decellularized cartilage-derived matrix (CDM) scaffolds retain the native composition of cartilage tissue, providing a conducive microenvironment for cellular growth and differentiation, while exhibit limited mechanical support. Our investigation involved the fabrication of a new hybrid CDM- polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel scaffold with four different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%), followed by a comprehensive characterization of the construct’s physicochemical, mechanical, and biological properties to elucidate their potential in cartilage regeneration applications. Our results demonstrated that hybridization of the CDM with PVA enhanced the mechanical properties besides ensuring biocompatibility. FTIR and DSC results also confirmed the mechanical improvements in hybrid scaffolds. The hybrid CDM/PVA (15%/5%, 15%/10%, 15%/15%, and 15%/20%) scaffolds showed significantly different compressive strengths (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0004, p < 0.0001, p < 0.012 respectively). Moreover, resazurin test showed cell attachment and growth on all four types of hybrid scaffolds during seven days of three dimensional culture. The cross-linked CDM15%/PVA5% group, demonstrated acceptable mechanical strength, pore size, physicochemical properties, swelling behavior, and cell growth and attachment. Our data indicate that our hybrid CDM/PVA scaffold possess bioactive properties suitable for a promising candidate for cartilage tissue engineering studies.

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Funding

This research was financially supported by Babol University of Medical Sciences. (Thesis no: 9807730 and ethical code: IR. MUBABO.REC.1398.019).

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  1. Ali Moradi and Durdi Qujeq contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

    Davood Yari & Durdi Qujeq

  2. Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

    Davood Yari & Durdi Qujeq

  3. Orthopedic Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Davood Yari, Mohammad Hosein Ebrahimzadeh & Ali Moradi

  4. Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Jebrail Movaffagh & Arezoo Saberi

  5. Clinical Research Development Unit, Ghaem Hospitall, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Ali Moradi

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  1. Davood Yari
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Contributions

DY: Investigation, Data curation, Project administration, Methodology, Writing- Original draft, Visualization; JM: Supervision, Validation; ME: Resources, Investigation; AS: Investigation, Visualization; DQ; Validation, Supervision, Reviewing, Funding acquisition; AM: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Reviewing and Editing.

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Yari, D., Movaffagh, J., Ebrahimzadeh, M.H. et al. Biomimetic ECM-Based Hybrid Scaffold for Cartilage Tissue Engineering Applications. J Polym Environ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-024-03230-8

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