A collagen based scaffold for the repair of annulus fibrosus defects

The intervertebral disc (IVD) is the natural cartilaginous cushion found between the osseous vertebrae of the spinal column. It is an essential element for the flexibility of the spine but undergoes major degeneration with age, resulting in the loss of its functionality and in back and leg pain. Due to the large size of the IVD, its avascular nature and the difficulty for nutrients and waste particles to diffuse in or out of the IVD, damage and defects incurred by the IVD, be they natural or accidental, are very unlikely to heal and often trigger faster degeneration. The annulus fibrosus (AF) defines the outer boundaries of the disc and provides the structural integrity of the IVD. The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the regenerative potential of a collagen type II scaffold on standardized defects of the AF. Specifically, this thesis evaluated in vitro the effects of the culture conditions, of a select group of growth factors, of the cross-linking method and of the biochemical composition of the scaffold, in the perspective of preparing a suitable autologous cell-seeded implant for a goat animal model. Cross-linking method and the presence of GAG dramatically affected cell proliferation and new tissue synthesis, with the most promising results obtained with dehydrothermal treatment (DHT) cross-linking and with scaffolds containing 5 to 10% of chrondroitin-6-sulfate.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Saad, Leonide C. (Leonide Camile), 1977-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Myron Spector.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38930

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38930