• Weiping Su, Yihe Hu, Min Zeng, Mingqing Li, Shaoru Lin, Yangying Zhou, and Jie Xie.
• Department of Orthopedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No.87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China.
• J Orthop Surg Res. 2019 Dec 17; 14 (1): 446.

BackgroundPoly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels have been widely used in synthetic cartilage materials. However, limitations of PVA hydrogels such as poor biomechanics and limited cell ingrowth remain challenges in this field.MethodsThis work aimed to design novel nano-hydroxyapatite (nano-HA)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels coated with a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/nano-HA/PVA scaffold to counter the limitations of PVA hydrogels. The core, comprising nano-HA/PVA hydrogel, had the primary role of bearing the mechanical load. The peripheral structure, composed of PLGA/nano-HA/PVA, was designed to favor interaction with surrounding cartilage.ResultsThe double-layer HA/PVA hydrogel coated with PLGA/HA/PVA scaffold was successfully prepared using a two-step molding method, and the mechanical properties and biocompatibility were characterized. The mechanical properties of the novel PLGA/HA/PVA scaffold modified HA/PVA hydrogel were similar to those of native cartilage and showed greater sensitivity to compressive stress than to tensile stress. Rabbit chondrocytes were seeded in the composites to assess the biocompatibility and practicability in vitro. The results showed that the peripheral component comprising 30 wt% PLGA/5 wt% HA/15 wt% PVA was most conducive to rabbit chondrocyte adhesion and proliferation.ConclusionsThe study indicated that the double-layer HA/PVA hydrogel coated with PLGA/HA/PVA scaffold has the potential for cartilage repair.

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