Abstract
Current treatments of cartilage defects, including chondrocyte implantation and several tissue engineering strategies, often result in a repair tissue that does not replicate the architecture and depth-dependent properties of the native tissue. As a result, these therapies often only delay the occurrence degenerative diseases, such as osteoarthritis. Additionally, when the damage is extended to the subchondral bone, the regeneration of both bone and cartilage is major challenge, due to the dissimilar composition of the two tissues and the inherent challenge in recreating their strong interface, thus favouring the integration in vivo of the neo-tissue. The recent progresses in the field of biofabrication are opening new avenues for the treatment of damaged articulating joints. In particular, bioprinting technologies allow coordinating the deposition of multiple cell types and materials, thus permitting to mimic the complex architecture of osteochondral structures. In this lecture, the latest development in the field of (stem) cell-laden hydrogels, also termed bioinks, to create zonal-biomimetic cartilage constructs will be discussed, together with the integration of multiple (bio)printing strategies (i.e. co-fabrication of hydrogels, reinforcing polymers and bioceramics), and the impact of these technologies towards the generation of fully biofabricated, high-performance engineered osteochondral grafts, with potential application as tissue engineering constructs for regenerative medicine in orthopaedics.
