GTEC - Orthopaedic Tissue Engineering Research

Orthopaedic Tissue Engineering Research

The goal of this research program is to develop cell, scaffold, and living system technologies for the functional restoration of damaged bone, cartilage, and fibrocartilage. These core technologies are intended to enable development of products that advance current clinical options for the repair of defects due to traumatic injury of musculoskeletal tissues and the treatment of degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. The specific engineered systems being developed include: (i) cells, scaffolds, and constructs to promote osteogenesis in regions of bone deficiency, (ii) cartilage constructs to replace injured or diseased articular cartilage or growth plate tissue, and (iii) fibrocartilage constructs for meniscal or intervertebral disc repair.

The research projects within this program address several critical issues for the development of tissue-engineered constructs for orthopaedic applications. These include identifying effective and clinically convenient cell sources and developing strategies to direct the function of cells seeded within three-dimensional scaffolds. Another critical unmet need is to create scaffolds and constructs with adequate biomechanical properties since bone and cartilage are typically subject to high mechanical demands within the body. Once implanted, constructs must be functionally integrated with surrounding host tissues. Finally, this program emphasizes the development of quantitative test bed models to benchmark and optimize tissue-engineered construct performance.

Current GTEC Funded Projects

Cell technology research includes the following initiatives:

the in vitro isolation and manipulation of cells directly capable of bone and cartilage formation such as osteoblasts, chondrocytes, fibrochondrocytes, or mesenchymal stem cells;
the utilization of genetic engineering methods to create osteoinductive cells which, upon implantation into the host, initiate the differentiation of local cells into osteoblasts;
the control of cell proliferation, differentiation, and matrix synthesis through functional modification of biomaterial surfaces.

Construct technology research includes the following focus areas:

the design of porous polymer scaffolds with novel microarchitectures and adequate biomechanical strength for load-bearing clinical applications;
the development of bioreactor and culture systems that support the growth of 3D constructs within controlled biomechanical and biochemical environments;
the development of computational models in parallel with experimental systems to estimate the local mechanical signals experienced by cells within tissue-engineered constructs and to allow optimization of bioreactor culture conditions.

The integration into living systems research includes the following efforts:

the development of model systems to rigorously test bone and cartilage regeneration strategies in preparation for human clinical trials.
the use of nondestructive, quantitative outcome measures to evaluate construct technologies for musculoskeletal repair.

Our research program is contributing to the field of orthopaedic tissue engineering by addressing barriers and critical issues associated with cell sourcing, biomaterial scaffold design, construct development in vitro, and integration into living systems. In addition, a significant aspect of the value-added by our program is the ability to coordinate the research activities of an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, engineers, and biologists working towards common objectives.

Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience
315 Ferst Drive • Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0363
Phone: 404-894-6228 • Fax: 404-894-2291


		Orthopaedic Tissue Engineering Research The goal of this research program is to develop cell, scaffold, and living system technologies for the functional restoration of damaged bone, cartilage, and fibrocartilage. These core technologies are intended to enable development of products that advance current clinical options for the repair of defects due to traumatic injury of musculoskeletal tissues and the treatment of degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. The specific engineered systems being developed include: (i) cells, scaffolds, and constructs to promote osteogenesis in regions of bone deficiency, (ii) cartilage constructs to replace injured or diseased articular cartilage or growth plate tissue, and (iii) fibrocartilage constructs for meniscal or intervertebral disc repair. The research projects within this program address several critical issues for the development of tissue-engineered constructs for orthopaedic applications. These include identifying effective and clinically convenient cell sources and developing strategies to direct the function of cells seeded within three-dimensional scaffolds. Another critical unmet need is to create scaffolds and constructs with adequate biomechanical properties since bone and cartilage are typically subject to high mechanical demands within the body. Once implanted, constructs must be functionally integrated with surrounding host tissues. Finally, this program emphasizes the development of quantitative test bed models to benchmark and optimize tissue-engineered construct performance. Current GTEC Funded Projects Cell technology research includes the following initiatives: the in vitro isolation and manipulation of cells directly capable of bone and cartilage formation such as osteoblasts, chondrocytes, fibrochondrocytes, or mesenchymal stem cells; the utilization of genetic engineering methods to create osteoinductive cells which, upon implantation into the host, initiate the differentiation of local cells into osteoblasts; the control of cell proliferation, differentiation, and matrix synthesis through functional modification of biomaterial surfaces. Construct technology research includes the following focus areas: the design of porous polymer scaffolds with novel microarchitectures and adequate biomechanical strength for load-bearing clinical applications; the development of bioreactor and culture systems that support the growth of 3D constructs within controlled biomechanical and biochemical environments; the development of computational models in parallel with experimental systems to estimate the local mechanical signals experienced by cells within tissue-engineered constructs and to allow optimization of bioreactor culture conditions. The integration into living systems research includes the following efforts: the development of model systems to rigorously test bone and cartilage regeneration strategies in preparation for human clinical trials. the use of nondestructive, quantitative outcome measures to evaluate construct technologies for musculoskeletal repair. Our research program is contributing to the field of orthopaedic tissue engineering by addressing barriers and critical issues associated with cell sourcing, biomaterial scaffold design, construct development in vitro, and integration into living systems. In addition, a significant aspect of the value-added by our program is the ability to coordinate the research activities of an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, engineers, and biologists working towards common objectives.
		Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience 315 Ferst Drive • Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0363 Phone: 404-894-6228 • Fax: 404-894-2291
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