title: Hyaluronic acid modified biodegradable scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering.
abstract: Hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan, HA) was immobilized onto the surface of macroporous biodegradable poly(D,L-lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) [PLGA] scaffolds to enhance the attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of chondrocytes for cartilage tissue engineering. The PLGA scaffolds were prepared by blending PLGA with varying amounts of amine-terminated PLGA-PEG di-block copolymer. They were fabricated by a gas foaming/salt leaching method. HA was chemically conjugated to the surface-exposed amine groups on the pre-fabricated scaffolds. The amount of surface exposed free amine groups was quantitatively determined by conjugating an amine-reactive fluorescent dye to the PLGA blend films. The extent of HA immobilization was also confirmed by measuring water contact angles. When chondrocytes were seeded within HA modified PLGA scaffolds, enhanced cellular attachment was observed compared to unmodified PLGA scaffolds. Furthermore, glycosaminoglycan and total collagen synthesis increased substantially for HA modified PLGA scaffolds. RT-PCR result and histological examination of the resultant cartilage tissue revealed that HA modified scaffolds excelled in inducing cartilage tissue formation in terms of collagen type II expression and tissue morphological characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyuk Sang
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Eun Ah
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jun Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Tae Gwan
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D002417:Cattle; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry*; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D011108:Polymers; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid