CARTILAGE ENGINEERED IN PREDETERMINED SHAPES EMPLOYING CELL TRANSPLANTATION ON SYNTHETIC BIODEGRADABLE POLYMERS

Cartilage is often used as structural support tissue for cosmetic repa ir in plastic and reconstructive surgery. We describe the efficacy of a new approach for the generation of cartilage in predetermined shapes using specially configured biodegradable synthetic polymer devices as delivery Vehicles for transplanted cells. Synthetic biodegradable pol ymer scaffolds were configured in one of four specific shapes, i.e., a triangle, a rectangle, a cross, and a cylinder. The polymer matrices were seeded with freshly isolated bovine articular chondrocytes and th en implanted subcutaneously into nude mice. Gross examination of excis ed specimens 12 weeks after implantation revealed the presence of new hyaline cartilage of approximately the same dimensions as the original construct. This cartilage showed no signs of resorption or overgrowth over the 12-week time course of the experiment. Histologic evaluation using hematoxylin and eosin stains confirmed the presence of normal m ature hyaline cartilage in 46 of 48 specimens. These results suggest t hat cartilage can be created in predetermined shapes and dimensions us ing cell transplantation on appropriate polymer templates. This techno logy would be useful in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.