A new hydrogel could help improve the treatment of damaged cartilage in knees and other joints. The unique properties of the gel, which provides a scaffold for cartilage cells to grow on, allow it to be implanted via keyhole surgery.
鈥淲e will start human trials soon,鈥� says聽 at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.
The key property of the gel developed by Lin and her colleagues is that it doesn鈥檛 set until exposed to ultraviolet light for around 10 seconds and then does so quickly. It also binds strongly to surrounding cartilage and is strong enough to maintain its shape over the months required for new cartilage to grow.
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Treating cartilage injuries is difficult because the tissue doesn鈥檛 heal well, if at all, in adults. It is possible to try to repair cartilage by implanting cartilage cells 鈥� usually 鈥� to regenerate damaged areas. While this , there are many difficulties.
One of the main challenges has been firmly fixing the cells in the damaged area, says Lin. One method is to apply a patch to hold them in place, but this requires open surgery rather than a keyhole operation, meaning it takes people much longer to recover and they cannot put weight on the joint for an extended period.
The gel may solve the problem. It can be applied during keyhole surgery and keeps cells in place once set. In tests in pigs, cartilage defects were well-healed six months after the gel, loaded with cartilage cells, was applied. When the gel was applied without these cells, there was little healing.
The animal studies involved treating damaged articular cartilage, the cartilage covering the end of bones. However, many knee injuries involve damage to the meniscus, the cartilage that sits in between the bones. Further animal studies would be needed to establish if repairing the meniscus is feasible, says Lin.
The gel can also be used for skin tissue engineering, says Lin, and a clinical trial is already under way. 鈥淪ome promising results have been obtained,鈥� she says.
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