Construction and tissue regeneration evaluation for mature chondrocyte/scaffold complex under optimal compression loading

The tissue engineering is a promising method for cartilage regeneration studies. The rough in vivo initial repair environment of articular cartilage is a challenge for the development of cartilage tissue engineer-ing. Hereon, in this study, a silk fibroin/collagen type II scaffold was designed. The optimal mechanical environment for chondrocyte/scaffold complex in vitro maturation culture was determined and in vitro cultured mature artificial cartilage was evaluated for in vivo defect repair. Our research shows that the silk fibroin/collagen type II scaffold has good performance and can meet the special requirements of car-tilage repair. 10 % compressive strain is the optimal compressive loading in vitro. Under optimal compres-sion loading in vitro, chondrocytes can proliferate and grow rapidly on the scaffold to achieve better "maturation". The in vitro cultured chondrocyte/scaffold complex effectively improves the cartilage repair effect after implantation. The compressive elastic modulus of the new tissue reached 0.682 +/- 0.0 10 MPa after 12 weeks of repair (0.714 +/- 0.011 MPa for the surrounding host cartilage). Therefore, this study not only enhance the effect of cartilage repair but also provides a promising strategy for mechanical stimulation to promote functional in situ regeneration of articular cartilage.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).