Effect of PLGA scaffold penetrated demineralized bone solution for chondrogenesis: In vitro test

Adult articular cartilage tissue has poor capability of self-repair. For the effective articular cartilage repair and regeneration, numerous studies have been focused on tissue engineering approaches motivated by the clinical need. In this study, we developed synthetic/natural hybrid scaffolds with poly (lactide-co-glycolide)(PLGA) and demineralized bone solution (DB solution) for the application of articular cartilage regeneration. Composite scaffolds of PLGA penetrated DB solution (PLGA-pen-DBP) were manufactured by a solvent casting/salt leaching method soaked in DB solution. The chondrocytes were seeded in the PLGA-pen-DBP scaffolds and their viability was measured by MTT assay. Morphological observation for the scaffolds, biological assay for collagen and sulfated- glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) and PCR were performed. In SEM observation, we observed that PLGA-pen- DBP scaffolds have uniform porosity. Scaffolds containing DB solution were higher cell viability and contents of sGAG and collagen than only PLGA scaffolds. The engineered PLGA-pen-DBP scaffolds have uniform porosity, high cell viability, and relatively high contents of sGAG and collagen as well as chondrocytes contents. This result indicates that may serve as a potential cell delivery vehicle and a structural basis for in vitro tissue engineered articular cartilage.