DN-CARTILOGEL · Design of double network polycarbonate-based hydrogels by simultaneous reactions: scaffolds for load-bearing soft tissue regeneration

Design of double network polycarbonate-based hydrogels by simultaneous reactions: scaffolds for load-bearing soft tissue regeneration

Articular cartilage (AC) is the white flexible load-bearing soft tissue able to withstand the highest loads in physically demanding areas of the body. Once it is damaged, its poor ability for self-repair induces a progressive loss of function that, ultimately, results in severe rheumatic or musculoskeletal degenerative conditions, which are leading causes of morbidity. Among them, osteoarthritis (OA) is already one of the ten most disabling diseases in developed countries. Therefore, OA contributes to functional impairment and loss of independence in the middle-aged and the elderly, and it represents an immense burden to patients, thus having a major impact on European society. Unfortunately, the regeneration of AC is limited by its complex and unique structure and low self-repair capacity. Hence, the preventive repair of damaged AC remains a significant challenge in orthopaedic medicine, and DN-CARTILOGEL aimed at tackling this problem. The overall goal of the project focused on developing a cell-based therapy using polymeric-based hydrogel matrices as biocompatible scaffolds to replace damaged AC or support new functional tissue formation. While commonly used hydrogel fabrication techniques have several practical limitations (i.e. time-consuming, multistep process, lack of control over the reproducibility of the mechanical properties, or high degree of heterogeneity), DN-CARTILOGEL prepared innovative hydrogels based on hydrophilic polymeric materials as versatile biofunctional platforms with improved mechanical strength, toughness and high water content. The ultimate goal covered the development of a straightforward path to design robust hydrogels able to induce the differentiation of adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into specialized cartilage-producing cells. Indeed, DN-CARTILOGEL project has achieved significant milestones for solving the aforementioned drawbacks and fulfilled the research objectives.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union