Engineered synovial joint condyle using demineralized bone matrix

In an effort to develop tissue-engineered bio-joints, a novel demineralized joint scaffold was achieved by peeling off the cartilage layer of a distal femur joint condyle. Primary chondrocytes were then seeded onto the demineralized joint condyle scaffolds and cultured in vitro for 6 weeks. Histological staining and biochemical assays of the engineered joints showed that after 6 weeks in vitro culture, a cartilaginous layer had formed on the demineralized joint scaffold that was similar to native synovial articular cartilage with respect to palpation and texture. Meanwhile, the engineered joint condyle cartilage demonstrated rudimentary morphological and structural resemblance to native cartilage. Intense and uniform safranin-O red staining was found in engineered joint condyle cartilage. Furthermore, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) assays confirmed that there were no statistical differences in the GAG/DNA ratio between the engineered joint cartilage and native cartilage (p > 0.05). In conclusion, a novel scaffold and a practical method have therefore been developed for total joint tissue engineering based on demineralized bone scaffold. The morphological appearance of the engineered joint and the rudimentary biochemical quantification resemble that of a native articular condyle.