Acta Vet. Brno 2009, 78: 643-648

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb200978040643

Stability of Collagen Scaffold Implants for Animals with Iatrogenic Articular Cartilage Defects

Josef Jančář1, Lucy Vojtová1, Alois Nečas2, Robert Srnec2, Lucie Urbanová2, Michal Crha2

1Institute of Materials Chemistry, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic
2Department of Surgery and Orthopaedics, Small Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Republic

Received May 14, 2009
Accepted September 8, 2009

Synthesis and characterization of biodegradable hydrogels based on collagen modified by addition of synthetic biodegradable copolymer intended for preparation of porous scaffolds for mesenchymal stem cells used for possible implantation to animals with articular surface defects was investigated. The synthetic biodegradable tri-block copolymer used was the block copolymer of polyethylene glycol (PEG), polylactic acid (PLA), polyglycolic acid (PGA) (PEG-PLGA) endcapped with itaconic acid (ITA). The water-soluble carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccimide system (EDC-NHS) was chosen as the cross-linking agent used to control the rate of hydrogel resorption. Dependence of the physical properties of the prepared hydrogels on the concentration of the EDC-NHS cross-linker, reaction time and concentration of PEG-PLGA-ITA copolymer was examined. Swelling behaviour, thermal stability, surface morphology and degradation rate were also characterized. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that increase in concentration of the cross-linking agent, as well as prolonged cross-linking time and increased amount of synthetic copolymer lead to enhanced thermal stability of the gels together with a reduced swelling ratio and degradation rate in saline. The resorption rate of these gels used in preparation of cartilage scaffolds can be controlled over a wide time interval by varying the collagen/(PEG-PLGA-ITA) blend composition or the conditions of the cross-linking reaction.