Injectable hydrogels for cartilage and bone tissue engineering

Hydrogels, due to their unique biocompatibility, flexible methods of synthesis, range of constituents, and desirable physical characteristics, have been the material of choice for many applications in regenerative medicine. They can serve as scaffolds that provide structural integrity to tissue constructs, control drug and protein delivery to tissues and cultures, and serve as adhesives or barriers between tissue and material surfaces. In this work, the properties of hydrogels that are important for tissue engineering applications and the inherent material design constraints and challenges are discussed. Recent research involving several different hydrogels polymerized from a variety of synthetic and natural monomers using typical and novel synthetic methods are highlighted. Finally, special attention is given to the microfabrication techniques that are currently resulting in important advances in the field.

Hydrogels are polymeric materials distinguished by high water content and diverse physical properties. They can be engineered to resemble the extracellular environment of the body's tissues in ways that enable their use in medical implants, biosensors, and drug-delivery devices. Cell-compatible hydrogels are designed by using a strategy of coordinated control over physical properties and bioactivity to influence specific interactions with cellular systems, including spatial and temporal patterns of biochemical and biomechanical cues known to modulate cell behavior. Important new discoveries in stem cell research, cancer biology, and cellular morphogenesis have been realized with model hydrogel systems premised on these designs. Basic and clinical applications for hydrogels in cell therapy, tissue engineering, and biomedical research continue to drive design improvements using performance-based materials engineering paradigms.

Autograft is considered ideal for grafting procedures, providing osteoinductive growth factors, osteogenic cells, and an osteoconductive scaffold. Limitations, however, exist regarding donor site morbidity and graft availability. Allograft on the other hand, posses the risk of disease transmission. Synthetic graft substitutes lack osteoinductive or osteogenic properties. Composite grafts combine scaffolding properties with biological elements to stimulate cell proliferation and differentiation and eventually osteogenesis. We present here an overview of bone grafts and graft substitutes available for clinical applications.