Development of Gelatin-Silk Sericin Incorporated with Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogel-Based Nanocomposite for Articular Cartilage Defects in Rat Knee Joint Repair

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Tissue Engineering
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Silk sericin (SS) shows promise as an extracellular matrix for tissue engineering.
• Developing effective scaffolds for cartilage repair remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel gelatin (GEL) and silk sericin (SS) incorporated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel nanocomposite (GEL-SS-PVA) scaffold.
• To evaluate the cytocompatibility and in vivo efficacy of the GEL-SS-PVA scaffold for articular cartilage repair.

Main Methods:

• GEL-SS-PVA hydrogel scaffolds were fabricated using glutaraldehyde cross-linking.
• Microstructure, thermal stability, mechanical properties, swelling, and degradation were analyzed.
• Cytocompatibility was assessed using L929 fibroblasts.
• In vivo studies involved implanting scaffolds in rat knee joint articular cartilage defects.

Main Results:

• SEM confirmed highly porous scaffolds with tunable pore sizes (58 µm for GEL-SS-PVA).
• PVA addition increased modulus but decreased tensile strength and elongation.
• Scaffolds exhibited high swellability, complete degradation in PBS, and excellent cytocompatibility.
• GEL-SS-PVA scaffolds significantly promoted articular cartilage defect repair in rats after 14 weeks.

Conclusions:

• The novel GEL-SS-PVA hydrogel nanocomposite scaffold possesses favorable properties for cartilage tissue engineering.
• This composite material demonstrates significant potential for promoting articular cartilage regeneration and repair.