SH Mashayekhan - Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
S Mohsenifard - Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Objective: The avascular nature of cartilage limits its self-re-newal ability. Driving or sport accidents are factors that neces-sitate the need for local cartilage treatment. Despite the recent numerous attempts performed in the field of cartilage tissue engineering to find a suitable solution for the repair, the chal-lenges are remained and novel clinical methods are needed.Materials and Methods: This study aimed to reach the me-chanical properties of the native articular cartilage by reinforce-ment of kartogenin (KGN)-incorporated extracellular matrix (ECM)-derived hydrogel using three-dimensional (۳D) printed microfibers made of ۹۰% (w/w) polycaprolactone (PCL) and ۱۰% (w/w) starch. The architecture of the printed fibers was inspired by the thickness of collagen fibers in cartilage tissue. The frameworks were ۳D printed with varied strand size and strand spacing for optimizing the mechanical properties of the construct. The hydrogel in the form of interpenetrating network (IPN) was made from alginate, cartilage ECM, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), and KGN. The aim of modifying the alginate with β-CD was to provide a host-guest interaction between KGN and β-CD to have a sustained release behavior of KGN from the hydrogel.Results: H-NMR spectroscopy revealed that β-CD was grafted successfully to alginate. The results revealed that the controlled release of KGN could be achieved using alginate-graft-β-CDhydrogel. Moreover, the compression strength of the optimized composite hydrogel was comparable to the mechanical strength of the native cartilage.Conclusion: The ongoing studies are focused on inducing the differentiation of encapsulated mesenchymal stem cells within the hydrogel to chondrocytes.

Kartogenin, Three Dimensional-Printing, Cartilage Tissue Engineering