Events

Biomaterials for next generation medical devices

Professor Melissa Grunlan Charles H. and Bettye Barclay Professor in Engineering

Technologies to enhance regeneration

Osteochondral defects are areas of localized joint damage to articular cartilage and underlying subchondral bone, often lead to pain, loss of joint function, and osteoarthritis. Clinical repair is focused on biological grafting procedures, which are innately limited by graft availability and donor site morbidity. We have developed a bioprosthetic implant, combining articular cartilage resurfacing and osseous tissue regeneration, as a new method for repair. These implants combine a multi-network hydrogel (cartilage cap) and osseous scaffold (base). The cartilage cap is prepared from a multi-network, electrostatic hydrogel that gives rise to articular cartilage-like mechanical, hydration, and tribological properties. The osseous scaffold base is prepared from a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) of PCL and PLLA.

Clinical treatment of osteochondral defects

The scaffold is intrinsically osteoinductive and has a trabecular bone-like modulus as well as robust degradation rates to facilitate bone ingrowth. Formed as cylindrical plugs, CC-ROPs may be implanted into OCDs using existing grafting techniques and be fabricated in a range of sizes. In vitro and in vivo performance of the cartilage cap, osseous scaffold, and CC-ROP device demonstrate encouraging results towards development of an alternative OCD treatment.

Meet the speaker

Professor Melissa Grunlan is the Charles H. and Bettye Barclay Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University. She has developed polymeric biomaterials for medical devices with environmentally-friendly coatings and won awards from TAMU, Presidential Impact Fellow and Chancellor EDGES Fellow.

Further information https://grunlanresearchgroup.org/people/

If you would like to meet the speaker, join us for a networking event on Tuesday between 1 and 3pm, in the SEMS Seminar Room.