Application of Injectable Cryogel Scaffolds with Shape-Memory Properties in Treatment of Osteoarthritis

Degenerative osteoarthritis caused by the abnormal metabolism of cartilage tissues can result in the formation of articular cartilage lesions and lead to the malfunction cartilage tissues surrounding the defected site. Owing to the nature of the lack of capillaries and nerves tissues, the self-renewal capacity of cartilage tissues is very limited. The major available clinical treatments for early degenerative osteoarthritis is administrating steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs to moderate to the inflammatory reaction. It has been established that viscosupplementation intra-articular injections with hyaluronic acid can be served as an alternative by increasing the amount of the lubricant in the articular cartilage to improve the mobility and alleviate pain. Unfortunately, the fast degradation rate of HA hinders its effectiveness in the regeneration of cartilage tissues even when continuous injection of HA is applied. Therefore, development of therapeutic strategies against degenerative osteoarthritis has attracted much attention. Among these, injectable therapeutics have been considered as current trend for degenerative joint disease. In this regard, the present proposal attempts to develop an injectable porous biomaterial with shape memory properties as a drug carrier for treating degenerative joint osteoarthritis. The knee joint is the most important articulation in the human body. The largest mobile hinge is closely related to the wide range of motion during daily activities, including running, jumping, squatting, kneeling, and walking, which raises the opportunity of occurrence in injuries, abnormal metabolism (degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis) and structural fracture in the articular cartilage tissues, resulting in the loss of mechanical buffering ability. Due to the difficulty of cartilage regeneration, existing treatments rely on prevent aggravation of disease state or totally substitute by artificial implants, which emphasizes the urgent needs in the regenerative-based treatments. Therefore, this project will attempt to develop a hyaluronic acid/carboxymethyl cellulose/platelet-rich plasma composite cyrogel with injectability and shape memory properties, which meets the clinical requirements of treatments for degenerative osteoarthritis. Additionally, in vitro and in vivo model will be used to verify the effectiveness of the presence of platelet-rich plasma in the composite cryogel on cellular responses of degenerative cartilage chondrocytes and regeneration of rabbit cartilage tissues, respectively.

Project ID:PC10901-2036
External Project ID:MOST107-2321-B182-005-MY3