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Recently pioneered by Research Associate Sylvia Nürnberger, Priv.-Doz. Dr.rer.nat., and an orthopedic trauma surgical team, the CartiScaff cartilage implant leverages natural cartilage to support the regeneration of cells to form neo-cartilage. According to Dr. Nürnberger, CartiScaff is the first biomaterial that strongly resembles cartilage in its structure and composition, and is the first implant of its kind to be produced from entire pieces of decellularized cartilage that can be repopulated with regenerative cells. The technology was announced in January through a press release published by the Medical University of Vienna, where the device was developed in collaboration with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology in the Austrian Workers’ Compensation Board (AUVA) Trauma Research Center.
Unlike most bone and tissue injuries, damage to cartilage is especially significant because it cannot heal on its own, even in the case of minor injuries. Interventions using biomaterials are often used to treat patients, but they’re not designed to fully restore damaged cartilage to its original state.
Dr. Nürnberger believes that use of the “natural cartilage matrix” as a biomaterial can improve cartilage regeneration. In an email, she described the material as being very dense and stiff, primarily comprising collagen type II.
“This matrix is responsible for the load-bearing capacity of the tissue, despite forming only a thin layer on the end of the long bones. Only [a small] percent of the tissue are cells. The low amount of cells encapsulated inside the matrix is part of the reason why articular cartilage does not regenerate by itself,” she said.
To create a suitable atmosphere for cartilage regeneration during research, Dr. Nürnberger and her team first removed the donor’s cells through a laser engraving process. “Laser engraving is a process to ablate material in a determined manner,” she said. “We do this in a line, or crossed-line, manner generating engravings into the cartilage matrix. This leaves behind incisions for the cells to grow deep into the dense material.”
According to the Medical University of Vienna’s press release, CartiScaff “largely resembles the original cartilage in terms of structure and composition and can therefore serve as a component of the regenerative tissue, thereby assisting the process or tissue formation.”
When asked what potential uses the CartiScaff implant might have in orthopedics, Dr. Nürnberger pointed to traumatic cartilage defects where deep and large but focal lesions must be refilled.
“CartiScaff leads to more appropriate and faster regeneration, as is the case with currently used biomaterials, since it strongly resembles native cartilage,” she said. “Another advantage that we expect is that its higher stiffness (than currently used biomaterials) might allow earlier load-bearing of the treated joint, reducing the long lasting postoperative restrictions and physiotherapy.”
Dr. Nürnberger said that CartiScaff is slated to undergo preclinical testing to determine how successfully the implant can regenerate cartilage.
Images Copyright of MedUni Wien / LBI-Trauma
