title: Composite three-dimensional woven scaffolds with interpenetrating network hydrogels to create functional synthetic articular cartilage.
abstract: The development of synthetic biomaterials that possess mechanical properties that mimic those of native tissues remains an important challenge to the field of materials. In particular, articular cartilage is a complex nonlinear, viscoelastic, and anisotropic material that exhibits a very low coefficient of friction, allowing it to withstand millions of cycles of joint loading over decades of wear. Here we show that a three-dimensionally woven fiber scaffold that is infiltrated with an interpenetrating network hydrogel can provide a functional biomaterial that provides the load-bearing and tribological properties of native cartilage. An interpenetrating dual-network "tough-gel" consisting of alginate and polyacrylamide was infused into a porous three-dimensionally woven poly(ε-caprolactone) fiber scaffold, providing a versatile fiber-reinforced composite structure as a potential acellular or cell-based replacement for cartilage repair.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Duke University Medical Center, Durham North Carolina, 27710 USA.
authors.forename: I-Chien
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Duke University Medical Center, Durham North Carolina, 27710 USA.
authors.forename: Franklin T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Moutos
authors.affiliation: Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Duke University Medical Center, Durham North Carolina, 27710 USA.
authors.forename: Bradley T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Estes
authors.affiliation: Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Duke University Medical Center, Durham North Carolina, 27710 USA.
authors.forename: Xuanhe
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, Duke University Medical Center, Durham North Carolina, 27710 USA.
authors.forename: Farshid
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guilak
keywords: 3-D weaving; IPN; Osteoarthritis; interpenetrating network hydrogels; scaffold; synthetic articular cartilage; tissue engineering