An injectable block copolymer synthetic cartilage

描述(由申请人提供)：摘要组织工程学是一个令人兴奋的跨学科研究领域，具有极大的潜力来革新创伤损伤和疾病的治疗。合成材料具有生物相容性、减少异物反应和消除顺应性不匹配的前景。尽管有这些承诺，但今天使用的材料仍然存在重大限制，特别是在软骨修复方面。用于软骨替代的材料已经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，模拟软骨的化学结构，以再现非凡的材料特性。这种材料将使用模仿天然软骨中II型胶原和糖胺多聚糖的化学结构的图案。利用这些基序，一个由两到三个组分组成的系统将被设计成在体内凝胶化并附着在天然受损的软骨上。材料的形貌将由自组装和纳米相分离驱动。这项建议的具体目标是(1)开发一种模仿软骨化学结构的可注射嵌段共聚体系。(2)体外检测该系统的生物相容性和对受损软骨的凝胶性和粘附性。(3)优化并应用合成软骨凝胶修复体内受损软骨。

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.