A Novel Glycosaminoglycan Mimetic Scaffold for Cartilage Repair

Project Narrative An estimated 49 million Americans, or 1 of every 6 adults, are affected by cartilage damage. Current surgical procedures result in inadequate repair suffering from poor integration with surrounding hyaline cartilage and the formation of fibrocartilage instead of normal hyaline cartilage. The approach described here is to combine the surgical treatment of microfracturing, which will provide endogenous cells capable of chondrogenesis to the defect site, with a novel scaffold that mimics the cartilage extracellular matrix during development to promote chondrogenesis and cartilage tissue formation.