Abstract
Cartilage tissue engineering remains a top priority due to the limited intrinsic capacity of articular cartilage for self-repair. In this study, the tissue engineering potential of a decellularized porcine cartilage scaffold, in which the proteoglycans (PG) had also been removed, was evaluated. To improve cell distribution within the scaffold, a novel cell seeding technique using centrifugation and a cell seeding device designed for this technique was developed. The modified porcine cartilage scaffolds were seeded with chondrocytes using the novel cell seeding technique and left in static culture for up to 21 days. A previously described bioreactor was used to measure the properties of the constructs at 7, 14, and 21 days. The ability of the scaffolds to support cell viability and proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition was evaluated at these time points as well. The novel cell seeding technique was also evaluated at 24 hours. Results indicated that the scaffold was capable of supporting cell viability and proliferation at all time points tested. Furthermore, the scaffold encouraged PG deposition by the chondrocytes, as PG accumulation increased up to 21 days. The novel cell seeding technique proved capable of achieving a high cell seeding efficiency and cell density as compared to native tissue. However, the seeded cells were heavily concentrated in the superficial regions of the scaffold. Overall, this study indicated that the modified decellularized porcine cartilage scaffold could have applications for cartilage tissue engineering. Also, the novel cell seeding technique may provide a promising alternative to static cell seeding methods.