Nanocomposite-cartilage scaffold fabrication

1 Bottom-up self-assembling nanomaterials-based cartilage constructs 

Generally, traditional TE efforts have focused on the manufacture of homogenous constracts exhibiting mechanical properties and characteristics similar to those of one particular tissue type. Although good results have been obtained, current research has focused on the fabrication of 3D spatiotemporal stratifled/graded nanocomposite 

Inkjet bioprinting has been employed to print ECM, cells, proteins, and DNA at low cost in many biomedical applications (llkhanizadeh et al., 2007). Gradients can be obtained by employing grayscale patterns of different intensities in the CAD (llkhanizadeh et al., 2007), or by applying different number of overprints 

Image is adapted from Campos, D.F.D., Blaeser, A., Weber, M., Jakel, J., Neuss, S., Jahnen-Dechent, W., Fischer, H., 2013. Three-dimensional printing of stem cell-laden hydrogels submerged in a hydrophobic high-density fluid. Biofabrication 5, 015003. 

Image is adapted from Cooke, M.N., 2004. Novel Stereolithographic Manufacture of Biodegradable Bone Tissue Scaffolds, Case Western Reserve University. 

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Electrospun fibers have also been researched for cartilage regeneration procedures. Thorvaldsson et al. (2(X)8) used a combination of micro- and nanofibers to create novel fiber structures. This enhanced the pore structure characteristics of the fabricated scaffold. The synthesized scaffold enhanced the human chondrocyte infiltration. Nanocomposites consisting of multiwalled carbon nanombes (MWCNTs) and PLA were fabricated using electrospinning. The nanocomposite material displayed enhanced mechanical properties and improved the chondrogenesis of MSCs (Holmes et al., 2013). 

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