![]() ![]() What is needed is a tissue engineering method that respects the multi-component and organizational nature of how tissues form in nature, she says, adding: “Then we’d have the ability to create something that’s durable.”Ĭhow’s lab creates biomaterial scaffolds made of biodegradable polymers, which are long chains of molecules that can degrade over time in the body. This presents a huge engineering challenge, says Chow, as it’s difficult to create one organ made up of two very different tissues. You could regenerate beautiful cartilage, but it won’t last if it isn’t anchored to that bone immediately beneath it.” If the cartilage doesn’t have a good anchor, it’s pointless. “To successfully regenerate this cartilage and make it functional, we must consider the fact that function is related to both the cartilage and the bone. “Medical intervention is the only way to regenerate osteochondral tissue,” says Lesley Chow, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering and bioengineering who is also affiliated with Lehigh's Institute for Functional Materials and Devices (I-FMD). After injury or damage, cartilage degeneration progresses, leading to osteoarthritis, which affects approximately 27 million Americans. It lacks blood vessels to support such repair. Unlike some tissues, cartilage cannot regenerate. When articular cartilage is absent or damaged, debilitating pain results. This type of cartilage provides a cushioning material to protect the ends of bones and is tightly integrated with bone through a gradient region known as the osteochondral interface―osteo means related to bone, chondral related to cartilage. Articular cartilage exists where bones meet at the joints. ![]()
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