Development of advanced bioglass-polymer scaffolds for OSTEOCHONdral interface tissue regeneration

Damage to the osteochondral interface (OCI) is a serious health problem associated with the development of osteoarthritis affecting the lives of millions of people. However, current treatment tools have imitations leading to unsatisfactory clinical outcomes.

This project aims to solve the problem by a complex approach combining and advancing recent findings in the field of tissue engineering (TE).

It is accepted that patient cells can be seeded onto artificial scaffolds containing biologically active substances (BASs) to stimulate these cells to new tissue formation.

We take the view that the scaffold should consist of a soft part and a sufficiently stiff part to avoid the formation of unwanted fibrocartilage.

We will use cryogelation and 3D-printed bioactive glass to prepare multiphasic scaffolds that can carry regulatory signals for adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs).

Our research objectives are to develop 1) a stiff scaffold with a graded structure matching the morphology of the subchondral bone and able to be loaded by BASs to facilitate osteogenesis, 2) a soft scaffold based on a cryogel enriched by BASs to facilitate chondrogenesis, and 3) a combined scaffold matching the zonal structure of OCI to enhance its regeneration. 4) We will use ADSCs and modern ex vivo testing protocols to evaluate the potential of the scaffold to meet the needs of OCI TE, and to direct future research to in vivo testing and commercialization.

The research will be conducted within the academic structures of the University of Chemistry and Technology (UCT) in Prague, Czech Republic, in collaboration with the Biotechnology and Biomedicine Center in Vestec (BIOCEV) near Prague, under the supervision of Prof. Jan Merna and Prof. Bacakova.