An injectable block copolymer synthetic cartilage

组织工程是一个令人兴奋的跨学科研究领域，在创伤性损伤和疾病的治疗方面具有巨大的潜力。合成材料具有生物相容性，减少异物反应，消除顺应性不匹配等优点。尽管有这些承诺，但目前使用的材料仍然存在主要限制，特别是在软骨修复方面。开发用于软骨替代物的材料在美容应用中取得了成功；然而，开发一种满足关节软骨极端机械要求的材料仍然是一个挑战。因此，我的目标是设计一种新型的合成软骨，模仿软骨的化学结构，再现非凡的材料特性。这种材料将使用模仿天然软骨中II型胶原蛋白和糖胺聚糖的化学结构的图案。利用这些基元，一个两或三组分的系统将被设计成在体内凝胶并粘附在原生的受损软骨上。材料的形态将由自组装和纳米相分离驱动。本提案的具体目标是：(1)开发一种模拟软骨化学结构的可注射嵌段共聚物系统。(2)在体外检测该系统的生物相容性以及与受损软骨的凝胶和粘附能力。(3)优化并使用合成软骨凝胶在体内修复受损软骨。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Abstract Tissue engineering is an exciting field of interdisciplinary research that holds great potential for revolutionizing the treatment of traumati injury and disease. Synthetic materials hold the promise of biocompatibility, reduced foreign body response, and elimination of compliance mismatch. Despite these promises, major limitations still exist in the materials used today, especially in cartilage repair. Materials developed for use as cartilage replacements have found success in cosmetic applications; however development of a material that meets the extreme mechanical demands on cartilage in the joint remains a challenge. Thus, I aim to engineer a new type of synthetic cartilage that mimics the chemical structure of cartilage to reproduce the extraordinary material properties. This material will use motifs that mimic the chemical structure of the type II collagen and glycosaminoglycans in native cartilage. Using these motifs, a two or three-component system will be designed to gel in vivo and adhere to the native, damaged cartilage. The morphology of the material will be driven by self-assembly and nanophase separation. The specific aims of this proposal are to (1) Develop an injectable block copolymer system that mimics the chemical structure of cartilage. (2) Examine biocompatibility and the ability of this system to gel and adhere to damaged cartilage in vitro. (3) Optimize and employ the synthetic cartilage gel to repair damaged cartilage in vivo.