< Terug naar vorige pagina

Publicatie

Design and development of a reinforced tubular electrospun construct for the repair of ruptures of deep flexor tendons

Tijdschriftbijdrage - Tijdschriftartikel

This research aims at developing a more potent solution for deep flexor tendon repair by combining a mechanical and biological approach. A reinforced, multi-layered electrospun tubular construct is developed, composed of three layers: an inner electrospun layer containing an anti-inflammatory component (Naproxen), a middle layer of braided monofilament as reinforcement and an outer electrospun layer containing an anti adhesion component (hyaluronic acid, HA). In a first step, a novel acrylate endcapped urethane-based precursor (AUP) is developed and characterized by measuring molar mass, acrylate content and thermo-stability. The AUP material is benchmarked against commercially available poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL). Next, the materials are processed into multi-layered, tubular constructs with bio-active components (Naproxen and HA) using electrospinning. In vitro assays using human fibroblasts show that incorporation of the bio-active components is successful and not-cytotoxic. Moreover, tensile testing using ex vivo sheep tendons prove that the developed multi-layered constructs fulfill the required strength for tendon repair (i.e. 2.79-3.98 MPa), with an ultimate strength of 8.56 +/- 1.92 MPa and 8.36 +/- 0.57 MPa for PCL and AUP/PCL constructs respectively. In conclusion, by combining a mechanical approach (improved mechanical properties) with the incorporation of bioactive compounds (biological approach), this solution shows its potential for application in deep flexor tendon repair.
Tijdschrift: MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING C-MATERIALS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
ISSN: 1873-0191
Volume: 119
Jaar van publicatie:2021
Toegankelijkheid:Closed